Resilient design of distribution grid automation system against cyber-physical attacks using blockchain and smart contract

Abstract

The current Distribution Grid Automation (DGA) Systems are being heavily dependent on the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure for its proper operation. The DGA architectures are predominantly centralized and usually deployed on a dedicated hardware. This increases the risk of blackouts under a coordinated cyber-physical attack. The compromise of the dedicated hardware that hosts the central coordinator of the DGA automation results in a blackout. Though many countermeasures have already been proposed for tackling different types cyber and physical attacks on the ICT infrastructure, very few measures have been proposed to ensure the availability of the grid operation functions, even when it is compromised. This study proposes an automatic, distributed approach based on Blockchain and Smart Contract that ensures the availability of the core DGA functions even if the central coordinator that operates the grid is compromised. This is done by virtualizing and migrating/re-initialising these functions from the dedicated hardware that was compromised to another. Additionally, a Multi-Attribute Decision Making based method is incorporated into the Smart Contract that helps in selection of the optimal hardware that can host the function considering its limitations (hardware and software). Finally, a proof of concept implementation of the proposed solution is presented that utilizes the Calvin IoT (Internet of Things) platform, Flow programming tool and Hyperledger fabric and its performance is evaluated.

Keywords

• Blockchain
• Distribution grid automation
• Smart contract
• Multiple attribute decision making
• Resilience