Optimal Planning for Enhancing the Resilience of Modern Distribution Systems Against Cyberattacks

TL;DR

This paper investigates the vulnerability of modern distribution systems to cyberattacks exploiting IoT devices, demonstrating the insufficiency of traditional protections and proposing distributed generation strategies for enhanced resilience.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of distribution-level cyberattack feasibility and impact, and proposes resilience planning using distributed generation to mitigate such threats.

Findings

Cyberattacks can target voltage-sensitive nodes at the distribution level.

Conventional protections are insufficient against localized cyberattacks.

Distributed generation can enhance distribution system resilience.

Abstract

The increasing integration of IoT-connected devices in smart grids has introduced new vulnerabilities at the distribution level. Of particular concern is the potential for cyberattacks that exploit high-wattage IoT devices, such as EV chargers, to manipulate local demand and destabilize the grid. While previous studies have primarily focused on such attacks at the transmission level, this paper investigates their feasibility and impact at the distribution level. We examine how cyberattackers can target voltage-sensitive nodes, especially those exposed by the presence of high-consumption devices, to cause voltage deviation and service disruption. Our analysis demonstrates that conventional grid protections are insufficient against these intelligent, localized attacks. To address this, we propose resilience strategies using distributed generation (DGs), exploring their role in preemptive planning. This research highlights the urgent need for distribution-level cyber resilience planning in smart grids.