Cyberattack patterns in blockchain-based communication networks for distributed renewable energy systems: A study on...

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity in Smart Grids
• Blockchain Applications in Energy Systems
• Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks

Background:

• Reliable, resilient, and secure communication for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) is critical for Smart Grid (SG) functionality.
• The Solana blockchain offers high stability, scalability, throughput, and low latency, making it suitable for enhancing DER security in SGs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present comprehensive datasets of cyberattacks targeting Solana blockchain-based Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs) used for DERs.
• To analyze attack patterns and their impact on real-time events monitoring and control in SGs.
• To facilitate the identification and mitigation of cyber threats in smart grid applications.

Main Methods:

• Collection of big datasets from Solana blockchain-based IWSNs monitoring DER events.
• Inclusion of both raw and refined data to highlight distinct cyberattack trends.
• Focus on specific cyberattacks including SQL Injection, Spoofing, and Man-in-the-Middle (MitM).

Main Results:

• Identified distinct patterns in cyberattacks such as superfluous data generation, invalid/deceptive packet transmission, high bandwidth usage, rerouting, memory overflow, overheads, and high latency.
• Demonstrated how these attack patterns compromise the effectiveness of real-time events monitoring and control for DERs.
• Highlighted the challenges posed by these cyber threats to the reliability and security of smart grids.

Conclusions:

• The presented datasets are crucial for understanding and addressing cyberattacks in DERs within smart grids.
• The findings are expected to aid in developing robust mitigation strategies against a variety of cyber threats.
• Further research using these datasets can improve the overall security and resilience of smart grid infrastructure.