On identifying vulnerable nodes for power systems in the presence of undetectable cyber-attacks

The growing dependence of critical infrastructures and industrial automation on smart grids has resulted in growing and unforeseen cyber security threatens to power systems. Identifying vulnerable nodes and analyzing the influence of undetectable attacks play an important role in defending cyber attacks. This paper aims to identify the nodes, at which attacks may occur but are not detectable based on the measurements for the power systems, and then further identify the vulnerable nodes by analyzing whether these undetectable attacks lead to damages to the power networks. Several algorithms are developed for these goals by considering the cases with a single attack, multiple simultaneous attacks, and persistent attacks. Finally, the algorithms are validated with the IEEE 3-machine 6-bus system.