Smart Grid Security Issues

The smart grid concept is being fostered due to required evolution of the power network to incorporate distributed energy sources (DES), renewable energy sources (RES), and electric vehicles (EVs). The inclusion of these components on the smart grid requires an information and communication technology (ICT) layer in order to exchange information, control, and monitor the electrical components of the smart grid. The two-way communication flows brings cyber security issues to the smart grid. Different cyber security countermeasures need to be applied to the heterogeneous smart grid according to the computational resources availability, time communication constraints, and sensitive information data. This paper presents the main security issues and challenges of a cyber secure smart grid, whose main objectives are confidentiality, integrity, authorization, and authentication of the exchanged data.