Cybersecurity Analysis for the Communication Protocol in Smart Grids

Smart Grids are smart electrical networks that use communication technologies to service the power grid. They are an interconnected, self-detecting-adjusting-correcting network of distributed loads and generators. The Substation Automation lies at the heart of Smart Grids, and IEC 61850 is an innovative communication and automation standard within Smart Grids substations. This study aims to explore a cybersecurity analysis of the communication protocols recommended under the IEC 61850 standard, namely GOOSE messaging protocol. GOOSE messaging has been chosen as the candidate protocol for testing due to its increasing prevalence in the standard and adoption by industry. Relevant attack vectors have then been investigated. Finally, this study demonstrated that GOOSE messages are vulnerable to a variety of attack vectors, such as Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability, which leave the systems prone to spurious operations or faulty tripping.