Smart Grid and Cybersecurity Challenges

In the modern and computerized energy industry cyber security plays a critical role alongside physical security. The smart grid is considered as one of the leading revolutionary innovations in this industry with established solutions and engineering sciences that support the efficiency, flexibility and reliability of power, gas and water systems. A cybersecurity breach in this industry can have irreversible consequences resulting in disasters that threaten human life, along with more tradition consequences in security principles such as confidentiality, integrity and availability of the service or data. This paper seeks to describe the cyber security issues present in smart grids, including past challenges and their root causes, and proposes methodological approaches to protect the smart grid against cyber security attacks by proposing potential mitigating controls.