Impact Analysis of Diverse Prior Information and Protection Cost on Attack Efficiency in Cyber-Physical Power System

The secure operation of Cyber Physical Power System (CPPS) is a prerequisite for all societal activities. However, recent research has shown that CPPS is increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. In this paper, considering the virus spreading and cascading failure processes, we investigate the robustness of CPPS under different cyber attacks. In contrast to previous studies, we propose a more realistic simulation model that assumes attackers can not access full information about CPPS. Therefore, we focus on studying the impact of diverse prior information and protection cost on the robustness of CPPS from both offensive and defensive perspectives. We perform the simulation based on theoretical networks and the IEEE 118-bus system. Experimental results show that the more prior knowledge attackers obtained, the more advantageous it is for them to disrupt the system. More importantly, we further analyze the average benefit and the marginal benefit of protection, revealing how to configure the number of nodes to be protected under limited defense resources. Our findings provide practical insights for establishing a resilient CPPS.