Power System and Communication Network Co-Simulation for Cyber Security Analysis

Nowadays, critical infrastructures such as power networks, power plants, refineries, and governmental organizations are controlled and monitored by Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and Sensing and Distribution Automation Systems (DAS). Such systems incorporate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services to monitor and control the process. Corruption or malfunctioning of CPS may lead to catastrophic environmental disasters with significant effects on human life. Recent cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures revealed that almost all types of attacks can be orchestrated on CPSs. Further investigations illustrated that a considerable number of these attacks are due to the lack or non-existence of audit and accountability in CPS.  Interfacing existing power systems and ICT simulators (termed co-simulation) is thought to be a practical and realistic approach to evaluate complex CPSs. Thus, in this work, in order to assess the influence of the uncertainties within information networks on the performance of the real-time controls in power systems, a co-simulation method is proposed. Then based on the co-simulation testbed, we will conduct a number of tests including protocol evaluation, cyber threat evaluation, cyber-attack recovery planning, risk assessment, and resilience or investment prioritization.