Comprehensive Evaluation of Cyber Attacks on Grid-Connected Smart Inverters

This paper presents an in-depth study of cyberattacks on a grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter, with a focus on denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Four distinct scenarios are explored: (a) data flooding attacks, (b) man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, (c) compromised web server attacks, and (d) side-channel attacks. Preliminary laboratory experiments were conducted on a 3.8 kW grid-connected PV inverter powered by a PV emulator, illustrating the system’s responses to each attack type. The results demonstrate the potential for DoS incidents and service interruptions. Future work will expand on this analysis and include a discussion of various mitigation strategies.