A Novel Approach for Detection of Cyber Attacks in Microgrid SCADA System

Modern electrical microgrid incorporates Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), and other smart devices to monitor, and control the flow of power in electrical networks. SCADA employs various communication protocols such as Modbus, Ethernet/IP, DNP3, IEC61850, etc. to send and receive the data and control commands. These protocols have several known vulnerabilities and pose a threat to SCADA systems from cybersecurity perspective and thus the microgrid. This paper attempts to assess the susceptibility of Modbus and Ethernet/IP protocols to potential cyber-attacks. To carry out the analysis a cyber-physical hardware test-bed for a hybrid microgrid SCADA system is developed. Further, a novel intrusion detection algorithm involving both network traffic-based and power system data-based is proposed. The proposed technique uses traffic signatures for detecting Denial of Service (DoS) attack, and power system anomaly-based approach to identify False Data Injection (FDI) attack. The accuracy and effectiveness of the technique have been tested and results show proof of high accuracy and effectiveness.