Protecting the grid topology and user consumption patterns during state estimation in smart grids based on data obfuscation

Protecting the grid topology and user consumption patterns during state estimation in smart grids based on data obfuscation

Nandakumar, Lakshminarayanan (CGI Nederland B.V)
Tillem, G. (TU Delft Cyber Security)
Erkin, Z. (TU Delft Cyber Security)
Keviczky, T. (TU Delft Delft Center for Systems and Control; TU Delft Team Tamas Keviczky)

Delft Center for Systems and Control

2019

Smart grids promise a more reliable, efficient, economically viable, and environment-friendly electricity infrastructure for the future. State estimation in smart grids plays a pivotal role in system monitoring, reliable operation, automation, and grid stabilization. However, the power consumption data collected from the users during state estimation can be privacy-sensitive. Furthermore, the topology of the grid can be exploited by malicious entities during state estimation to launch attacks without getting detected. Motivated by the essence of a secure state estimation process, we consider a weighted-least-squares estimation carried out batch-wise at repeated intervals, where the resource-constrained clients utilize a malicious cloud for computation services. We propose a secure masking protocol based on data obfuscation that is computationally efficient and successfully verifiable in the presence of a malicious adversary. Simulation results show that the state estimates calculated from the original and obfuscated dataset are exactly the same while demonstrating a high level of obscurity between the original and the obfuscated dataset both in time and frequency domain.

Data obfuscation
Privacy
Smart grids
State estimation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7ed67684-72f7-43b4-8a23-a3b5c697a2a0

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42162-019-0078-y

2520-8942

Energy Informatics, 2

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2019 Lakshminarayanan Nandakumar, G. Tillem, Z. Erkin, T. Keviczky