Cyber security for future power system operation

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Project abstract

Cyber security has been identified as one of the main challenges with the introduction of various smart grid solutions. In the future it is expected that the overall ICT infrastructure for the operation of power systems will increase radically in complexity. It will be much more distributed, it will be much more encompassing in terms of included IT-units, it will be much more capable in terms of advanced functionality, it will be much more interconnected, and much more of the intelligence will be built into down-scaled embedded systems. In order to deliver all the new "smartness" that this future ICT-infrastructure needs to be secured from malicious antagonists/hackers.

This project will devise methods for designing and analyzing high-security ICT infrastructures for the power system operation. It will focus on system-(of system)-level security in order to counteract sub-optimization as well as how to aggregate security issues in embedded systems. It will continue and refine results from both EKC2 and the FP7 project VIKING.

Summary of work

2015. A number of well-known, widely used methods for information security risk assessment have been compared in terms of input requirements, and gaps between a broadly used modeling language (ArchiMate) and the methods’ suggestions have been identified. Moreover, CySeMoL, the Cyber Security Modeling Language, has been applied in two modeling cases.

2016. Reference models of several common IT architectures have been formulated – including SCADA, Substation automation, and Advanced metering infrastructure. This allows further use of the models for cyber security evaluations and architectural decision making (e.g., at the level of a power utility).

2016. The reference model of the Advanced metering infrastructure has been analysed and evaluated with regards to cyber security. This provides a generic cyber security evaluation of a typical advanced metering infrastructure, as well as allows IT and cyber security practitioners at power utilities to optimize their choices when designing or modifying IT architectures used in advanced metering (i.e., “smart metering”).

2016. A generic meta-model for modelling authorization in enterprises has been formulated and proposed. The work has resulted in a journal publication in Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly, in July 2016.

Event log

2016. A workshop paper has been published at CPSWeek 2016 in Wien, in April; and a conference paper based on the results has been published at PICMET 2016 in Hawaiiin September.

2016-06. Attendance at a yearly PhD conference, gathering most of Sweden’s PhD students in cyber security.

2016-[06-09]. A PhD course in securing critical information infrastructures with a practical exercise in cyber security incident handling in Linköping, and two seminars for presentations and discussions (at Chalmers and KTH), in total involving 13 PhD students.

2016-[10-11]. A two weeks research visit at DTU (Technical University of Denmark), between October and November, working on a framework for cyber-physical intrusion detection and broader cyber security aid for power utilities, together with researchers Anna Magdalena Kosek, Oliver Gehrke, and Kai Heussen.

Project reference-group

Robert Lagerström,  KTH
Mathias Ekstedt,  KTH
Jonas Hallberg,  FOI
Johan I Persson,  Ellevio
Johan Malmström,  ABB
Simon Zimmermann,  Vattenfall (until fall 2016)
Jens Zerbst,  Vattenfall (from fall 2016)

Publications by this researcher

See alternatively the researcher's full DiVA list of publications, with options for sorting.
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Load Balancing of Renewable Energy : A Cyber Security Analysis
Alexandre Vernotte,   Margus Välja,   Matus Korman,   Gunnar Björkman,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Robert Lagerström.
2018,   Energy Informatics, vol. 1

Analyzing the effectiveness of attack countermeasures in a SCADA system
Matus Korman,   Margus Välja,   Gunnar Björkman,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Alexandre Vernotte,   Robert Lagerström.
2017,   2nd Workshop on Cyber-Physical Security and Resilience in Smart Grids, CPSR-SG 2017, 21 April 2017

A study on software vulnerabilities and weaknesses of embedded systems in power networks
Margus Välja,   Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström.
2017,   2nd Workshop on Cyber-Physical Security and Resilience in Smart Grids, CPSR-SG 2017, 21 April 2017

Integrated multi-domain risk assessment using automated hypothesis testing
O. Gehrke,   K. Heussen,   Matus Korman.
2017,   2nd Workshop on Cyber-Physical Security and Resilience in Smart Grids, CPSR-SG 2017, 21 April 2017

Method for Reliability Analysis of Distribution Grid Communications Using PRMs-Monte Carlo Methods
Mikel Armendariz,   Gonzalez Rodrigo,   Matus Korman,   Lars Nordström.
2017,   IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) General Meeting 2017, Chicago, IL

Technology Management through Architecture Reference Models : A Smart Metering Case
Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström,   Margus Välja,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Rikard Blom.
2016,   Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), SEP 04-08, 2016, Honolulu, HI

Automated Architecture Modeling for Enterprise Technology Management Using Principles from Data Fusion : A Security Analysis Case
Margus Välja,   Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström,   Ulrik Franke,   Mathias Ekstedt.
2016,   Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), SEP 04-08, 2016, Honolulu, HI

Bridging the gap between business and technology in strategic decision-making for cyber security management
Margus Välja,   Robert Lagerström,   Matus Korman,   Ulrik Franke.
2016,   2016 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology, PICMET 2016

Analyzing attack resilience of an advanced meter infrastructure reference model
Rikard Blom,   Matus Korman,   Lagerström Robert,   Ekstedt Mathias.
2016,   CPSWeek 2016, Vienna, 12-12 April 2016

Modeling Enterprise Authorization : A Unified Metamodel and Initial Validation
Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström,   Mathias Ekstedt.
2016,   Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly

A Requirements Based Approach for Automating Enterprise IT Architecture Modeling Using Multiple Data Sources
Margus Välja,   Robert Lagerström,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Matus Korman.
2015,   Enterprise Distributed Object Computing (EDOC) International Conference 2015

Modeling Authorization in Enterprise-wide Contexts
Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström,   Mathias Ekstedt.
2015,   The 8th IFIP WG 8.1 working conference on the Practice of Enterprise Modeling (PoEM 2015)

A Bayesian network model for likelihood estimations of acquirement of critical software vulnerabilities and exploits
Hannes Holm,   Matus Korman,   Mathias Ekstedt.
2015,   Information and Software Technology, vol. 58

Integrated metamodel for security analysis
Margus Välja,   Matus Korman,   Khurram Shahzad,   Pontus Johnson.
2015,   48th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), JAN 05-08, 2015, Kauai, HI

Overview of Enterprise Information Needs in Information Security Risk Assessment
Matus Korman,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Teodor Sommestad,   Jonas Hallberg,   Johan Bengtsson.
2014,   The 18th IEEE International EDOC Conference (EDOC 2014)

A Manual for the Cyber Security Modeling Language
Hannes Holm,   Mathias Ekstedt,   Teodor Sommestad,   Matus Korman.

Application of a cyber security assessment framework to smart grid architectures
Mathias Ekstedt,   Matus Korman,   Roberta Terruggia,   Giovanna Dondossola.
2013,   International Council on Large Electric Systems (Cigré) SC D2 2013 Colloquium

Software Migration Project Cost Estimation using COCOMO II and Enterprise Architecture Modeling
Alexander Hjalmarsson,   Matus Korman,   Robert Lagerström.
2013,   6th IFIP WG 8.1 Working Conference on the Practice of Enterprise Modeling, PoEM 2013

Conceptualization of Constructs for Shaping Information Security Behavior : Towards a Measurement Instrument
Waldo Rocha Flores,   Matus Korman.
2012,   Proceedings of the Seventh Pre-ICIS Workshop on Information Security and Privacy, Orlando, December 15, 2012

Publication list last updated from DiVA on 2024-01-10 15:22.

Page started: 2012-09-15
Last generated: 2024-01-10