Minimizing the Risk of Attacks in Electric Power Systems via Effective Grid Reinforcement of Counter Threat Technologies

Insider threats, both malicious and negligent insiders, are the most damaging emerging security threats to mission-critical systems due to their high privileges in the rapidly digitizing smart grids. This paper investigates how the electric power grid is vulnerable to insider threats. We focus on the load redistribution attacks, formulated with a security resource allocation game model. The formulation accounts for information leakage of the operator's defense strategy by the insider to the external attacker. The optimal strategies for both the system operator and attacker in the presence of the insider are to maximize their own payoffs. We also explore the allocation of the detection technologies that can be used to detect, identify, and protect against insider threats.