Smart Grid Wireless Network Security Requirements Analysis

Power grids are being enhanced by integrating the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to make them more reliable, economic, efficient, and environmentally friendly. The integration of power grids with ICT to build Smart Grids (SGs) has reduced costs and improved their performances. But, on the other hand, this has also brought the cyber security threats as well. In traditional ICT systems, the end devices are the powerful systems which have high computation power and memory capacity to perform the intense computations to avoid cyber security threats, whereas most of the end devices in SG lack these capabilities. Incorporating the security in the early stages of SG development through systems security requirements engineering can reduce the potential cyber security threats. This paper presents the results of applying Security Requirements Engineering Process (SREP) on the SG wireless network, and proposes the potential solutions that can be implemented such as using Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)-enabled Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) with Global Positioning System (GPS) support.