Fostering Trust in Smart Inverters: A Framework for Firmware Update Management and Tracking in VPP Context

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new framework for managing and verifying firmware updates in smart inverters within virtual power plants, enhancing trust, security, and transparency in DER-grid interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel firmware update management framework using verifiable credentials to improve trust, tracking, and cybersecurity in VPP environments.

Findings

Enhanced trust through verifiable firmware update tracking

Improved cybersecurity and transparency for stakeholders

Strengthened grid resilience with reliable firmware management

Abstract

Ensuring the reliability and security of smart inverters that provide the interface between distributed energy resources (DERs) and the power grid becomes paramount with the surge in integrating DERs into the (smart) power grid. Despite the importance of having updated firmware / software versions within a reasonable time frame, existing methods for establishing trust through firmware updates lack effective historical tracking and verification. This paper introduces a novel framework to manage and track firmware update history, leveraging verifiable credentials. By tracking the update history and implementing a trust cycle based on these verifiable updates, we aim to improve grid resilience, enhance cybersecurity, and increase transparency for stakeholders.