Securing critical infrastructure

Abstract

Energy Systems are undergoing radical changes, driven by a combination of factors, including full economic cost, efficiency, environmental impact and security-of-supply, while being facilitated by increased deregulation. This complexity can only be dealt with effectively with the rollout of complex ICT systems that will play a significant role in managing, planning, and securing the energy infrastructure. However, this ever-increasing complexity of energy and support ICT systems greatly increases the potential for cyber attacks. Modern energy systems are becoming increasingly coupled and interdependent and the move/convergence from heterogeneous protocols and systems to all IP-based systems and open standards, whilst beneficial from many perspectives, increases the attack surface and scope, and thus raises many cyber-security challenges. This paper will provide an overview of the cyber threat landscape in smart grid infrastructure from a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication perspective and discuss the role of PKI and authentication protocols for risk mitigation.