Side-Channels in Electric Power Synchrophasor Network Data Traffic

Abstract

The deployment of synchrophasor devices such as Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in an electric power grid enhances real-time monitoring, analysis and control of grid operations. PMU information is sensitive, and any missing or incorrect PMU data could lead to grid failure and/or damage. Therefore, it is important to use encrypted communication channels to avoid any cyber attack. However, encrypted communication channels are vulnerable to side-channel attacks. In this study, side-channel attacks using packet sizes and/or inter-packet timing delays differentiate the stream of packets from any given PMU within an encrypted tunnel. This is investigated under different experimental settings. Also, virtual private network vulnerabilities due to side-channel analysis are discussed.