Analysis of Inter-area Oscillations-based Switching Attack in Large Power Systems

Inter-area oscillations-based switching attack is the new class of cyber-physical attack on power systems. In this type of attack, the adversary first obtains the inter-area mode details through a measurement-based approach. Then the adversary perturbs the load(s) at inter-area frequencies. In this work, inter-area-based switching attack characteristics and their effects on large power systems are analyzed. The Prony method is employed to estimate the inter-area oscillation mode frequencies and damping factor. Inter-area switching attacks are analyzed in the 4-machine 2-area, 10-machine 3-area and 16-machine 5-area power systems. It is observed that the system is driven to instability faster when switching attack is applied on the loads that are in the vicinity of the generators which are participating in the least-damped inter-area modes.