METICS: A Holistic Cyber Physical System Model for IEEE 14-bus Power System Security

The electric power research and education communities and industry have been successfully sharing and using common IEEE Bus power system models for many years. This has enabled researchers, engineers, and educators to better communicate their findings and comparatively validate power analysis solutions using a common model set. However, today’s power systems are Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), that embed digital Operational Technology subsystems and networks (OT) and are also connected to Information Technology (IT) systems and networks. A set of freely accessible models, similar to the IEEE Bus model set, which includes the OT and IT subsystems, does not currently exist. We present METICS: Models for ExTensIble Cyber-physical system Security. Project METICS is our endeavor to create a set of free and holistic Cyber Physical System (CPS) models. In this paper, we introduce a model for an electric power CPS, based on the IEEE 14-bus system, that also includes the cyber, control, and corporate IT subsystems. Common holistic system models such as the one presented in this paper can enable: CPS modeling and analysis tool testing and validation, comparative, cross-disciplinary and cross-project solution evaluations, and CPS instruction. We are using this model for evaluating cyber-security solutions for Smart Grid CPS using adversarial and machine learning approaches. People who would like to use or improve upon these models are encouraged to visit the project page at github.com/METICS-CPS.