Resilience Framework for Power Electronic Systems Against Cyber-Physical Attacks: A Review

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic overview of the resilience framework for power electronics converter-based cyber-physical systems (CPSs), emphasizing end-to-end responses to the emerging challenges posed by cyber-physical attacks. While recent advancements in control and communication have enhanced the functionalities of power electronic converters in applications such as electric vehicles and smart grids, such advancements have also introduced new vulnerabilities, particularly to cyber-physical attacks. The existing literature tends to focus on isolated research areas, and a comprehensive review that encompasses strategies applicable before, during, and after an attack remains lacking. To address this gap, this paper categorizes state-of-the-art research into four key stages of an attack: anticipate and prepare, resist and absorb, detect and evaluate, and recover. Topics reviewed in this paper include converter and cyber-physical attack modeling, converter-based CPS testbeds, system hardening at the cyber and physical layers, attack detection, post-attack evaluation, and recovery strategies. Real-world case studies and practical regulations are also analyzed. Additionally, challenges and opportunities of the resilience framework are discussed. Despite notable advancements in modeling and identifying cyber-physical attacks, considerable efforts are still required to improve attack mitigation strategies and recovery mechanisms.

Keywords

• Cyber-physical attacks
• cyber-physical systems
• power converters
• resilience