Implementation of IEEE C37.118 Packet Manipulation Tool, pySynphasor for Power System Security Evaluation

This paper introduces an interactive method for designing real-time cyber-physical attacks on synchrophasor-based systems. To analyze the security vulnerabilities of the synchrophasor protocol (IEEE C37.118), we have developed an open-source Python framework called pySynphasor. This framework facilitates the dissection and construction of IEEE C37.118 packets, enabling the security analysis, implementation of PMU - based systems and vulnerability testing. Therefore, it benefits both the power industry and academia. Using the pySynphasor framework, different types of attacks, including False Data Injection Attacks (FDIA), eavesdropping, and fuzzing attacks, can be interactively implemented on PMU-based systems. A case study demonstrates the implementation of an FDIA attack as a capability of pySynphasor.