AVQS: attack route-based vulnerability quantification scheme for smart grid.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Cybersecurity
• Network Security

Background:

• Smart grid systems integrate diverse networks, creating potential security vulnerabilities.
• Existing vulnerability quantification methods often overlook network-specific risks inherent in smart grids.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and apply a novel scheme for quantifying smart grid vulnerabilities.
• To address the limitations of current methods by incorporating network connectivity into vulnerability assessments.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a novel attack route-based vulnerability quantification scheme.
• Introduced network vulnerability and end-to-end security scores tailored to smart grid environments.
• Evaluated the scheme using attack scenarios from the advanced metering infrastructure domain.

Main Results:

• The proposed scheme effectively quantifies vulnerabilities by considering network connectivity.
• Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the attack route-based method over common vulnerability scoring systems.
• Highlight the necessity of network-centric approaches for accurate smart grid vulnerability assessment.

Conclusions:

• The developed vulnerability quantification scheme provides a more optimized approach for smart grid security.
• Prioritizing security issues in smart grids requires methods that account for network topology and connectivity.
• Future security analyses must integrate network vulnerability metrics for comprehensive risk management.