The energy sector has been, in recent years, the target of sophisticated cyberattacks. Although the importance of collaborative cyber-security consciousness, expressed as extensive cyber threat intelligence sharing, is undoubted, the standardization of the means of exchanging cyber threat information efficiently and securely has been inadequately addressed and is mostly expressed by the emergence of the Trusted Automated eXchange of Indicator Information (TAXIITM) protocol which faces major deficiencies when it comes to data integrity assurance and suitability for event-driven architectures. This paper presents a novel approach enabling secure and real-time exchange of cyber threat information, by extending the technological capacity of the TAXII framework and addressing its deficiencies through the integration of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) and a generalized publish-subscribe middleware. The applicability of the proposed solution has been validated in several use cases addressing the real needs of Electrical Power and Energy Systems.
Energy management and exchange have increasingly shifted from concentrated to hierarchical modes. Numerous issues have arisen in the decentralized energy sector, including the storage of customer data and the need to ensure data integrity, fairness, and accountability in the transaction phase. The problem is that in the field of the innovative technology of blockchain and its applications, with the energy sector still in the developmental stages, there is still a need for more research to understand the full capacity of the technology in the field. The main aim of this work was to investigate the state of the current research of blockchain technologies as well as their application within the field of energy. This work also set out to identify certain research gaps and provide a set of recommendations for future directions. Among these research gaps is the application of blockchain in decentralized storage, the integration of blockchain with artificial intelligence, and security and privacy concerns, which have not received much attention despite their importance. An analysis of fifty-seven carefully reviewed studies revealed that the emerging blockchain which provides privacy-protection technologies in cryptography and other areas that can be integrated to address users’ privacy concerns is another aspect that needs further investigation. Grid operations, economies, and customers will all learn from blockchain technology as it provides disintermediation, confidentiality, and tamper-proof transfers. Moreover, it provides innovative ways for customers and small solar generators to participate more actively in the electricity sector and to benefit from their properties. Blockchains are a rapidly evolving field of research and growth. A study of this emerging technology is necessary to increase comprehension, to educate the body of expertise on blockchains, and to realize its potential. This study recommends that future work investigates the potential application of blockchain in the energy sector as well as the challenges that face its implementation from the perspective of policy makers. This future approach will enable researchers to direct their focus to the case studies approach, which will facilitate and ease the application of blockchain technology.
Ugonna Chikezie, Tutku Karacolak, Josue Campos do Prado
Security has been a major challenge in the smart grid since its adoption. This great concern let to the proposal of the application of blockchain technology to the smart grid. Blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography and its transactions are validated by a consensus mechanism. The most known and trusted blockchain consensus mechanism is the proof-of-work (PoW) as it can process very little number of transactions per second. However, the proof-of-authority (PoA) consensus mechanism is scalable as it can process thousands of transactions per second without compromising security. This paper focuses on the applicability of blockchain PoA consensus mechanism and how it ensures that transactions are confirmed on time and the integrity of the transactions are upheld in the blockchain. The PoA consensus mechanism is appropriate especially with the adoption of peer-to-peer energy trading between prosumers and consumers. This study proposes a peer-to-peer energy trading in an open blockchain with the help of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure(AMI) that enables smart meters to function optimally for this purpose.
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Smart Grid Security and Resilience
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
With the release of the electricity sales side, large-scale small-capacity distributed power generation units are connected to the distribution side, forming multi-type market entities such as microgrids, integrated energy systems, and virtual power plants. With the large-scale integration of distributed energy, the energy market under the energy internet is different from a traditional transmission grid. It is currently developing in the direction of diversified entities and commodities, a flat structure, and a flexible and competitive multi-agent market mechanism. In this context, this study analyzes the value of combining blockchain and the electricity market presents the design of a blockchain trading framework for multi-agent cooperation and sharing of the energy internet. The nodes in market transactions are modeled through power system modeling in the physical layer and the transaction consensus strategy in the cyber layer; moreover, the nodes are verified in a modified IEEE 13 testing feeder of a distribution network. A transaction example is demonstrated using the multi-agent cooperation and sharing transaction platform based on the Ethereum private blockchain.
The development and application of blockchain technology makes it possible to build a more robust and flexible botnet command and control channel. In order to better study this type of potential new botnet threats, a highly confrontational botnet model based on blockchain smart contracts-SCBot was proposed. The SCBot model adopts a hierarchical hybrid topology structure, builds a command transmission channel based on smart contracts at the zombie subnet layer, and establishes a credibility evaluation mechanism to determine the authenticity of nodes, and enhances the confrontation of the network from the two major levels of traffic and terminals. The construction of small botnet clusters were simulated, comparative experiments on SCBot's command transmission efficiency and robustness were conducted, and its feasibility in the real environment from the perspective of economic costs was analyzed. Finally, a brief analysis and discussion of the defense strategy of this type of botnet were given.
Charithri Yapa, Chamitha de Alwis, Madhusanka Liyanage
Emergence of the Energy Internet (EI) demands restructuring of traditional electricity grids to integrate heterogeneous energy sources, distribution network management with grid intelligence and big data management. This paradigm shift is considered to be a breakthrough in the energy industry towards facilitating autonomous and decentralized grid operations while maximizing the utilization of Distributed Generation (DG). Blockchain has been identified as a disruptive technology enabler for the realization of EI to facilitate reliable, self-operated energy delivery. In this paper, we highlight six key directions towards utilizing blockchain capabilities to realize the envisaged EI. We elaborate the challenges in each direction and highlight the role of blockchain in addressing them. Furthermore, we summarize the future research directive in achieving fully autonomous and decentralized electricity distribution networks, which will be known as Energy Internet.
With the advancement in the growth of Internet-of-Things (IoT), its number of applications has also increased such as in healthcare, smart cities, vehicles, industries, household appliances, and Smart Grids (SG). One of the major applications of IoT is the SG and smart meter which consists of a large number of internet-connected sensors and can communicate bi-directionally in real-time. The SG network involves smart meters, data collectors, generators, and sensors connected with the internet. SG networks involve the generation, distribution, transmission, and consumption of electrical power supplies. It consists of Household Area Network (HAN), and Neighborhood Area Network (NAN) for communication. Smart meters can communicate bidirectionally with consumers and provide real-time information to utility offices. But this communication channel is a wide-open network for data transmission. Therefore, it makes the SG network and smart meter vulnerable to outside hacker and various Cyber-Physical System (CPS) attacks such as False Data Injection (FDI), inserting malicious data, erroneous data, manipulating the sensor reading values. Here cryptography techniques can play a major role along with the private blockchain model for secure data transmission in smart meters. Hence, to overcome these existing issues and challenges in smart meter communication we have proposed a blockchain-based system model for secure communication along with a novel Advanced Elliptic Curve Cryptography Digital Signature (AECCDS) algorithm in Fog Computing (FC) environment. Here FC nodes will work as miners at the edge of smart meters for secure and real-time communication. The algorithm is implemented using iFogSim, Geth version 1.9.25, Ganache, Truffle for compiling smart contracts, Anaconda (Python editor), and ATOM as language editor for the smart contracts.
Xinyi Luo, Kaiping Xue, Jie Xu, Qibin Sun · 5 authors
Power generation systems tend to be distributed and decentralized, and therefore the concept of microgrid has been proposed, which needs to implement decentralized data storage and power dispatching. The traditional power system architecture is no longer suitable in the decentralized microgrid system because there are no trusted third parties such as control centers. Therefore, it is challenging to securely implement data aggregation and power dispatching in microgrids without any trusted third party. In this paper, by leveraging blockchain, we propose secure data aggregation based on homomorphic encryption and the PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) consensus, and meanwhile we propose automatic power dispatching by utilizing the PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) algorithm and smart contracts. The security and performance analysis shows the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed solutions.
Lasse Berntzen, Qian Meng, Boban Vesin, Marius Rohde Johannessen · 6 authors
This paper shows how the Ethereum blockchain can register settlements between an aggregator and prosumers in a smart grid. By providing flexible use of electricity to the aggregator, customers get rewarded. The flexibility is valuable for the aggregator since the power infrastructure may be used more efficiently. Blockchain is an exciting technology for handling settlements which, however, also has some clear limitations. For example, the cost per transaction on the public Ethereum blockchain is too high compared to the value of the actual transactions. A private blockchain is an alternative but removes some of the original benefits of using the public blockchain. The paper concludes that blockchain is a promising technology, and a private blockchain is more suitable for transactions containing minimal amounts.
This work develops a toolbox called WDSchain on MATLAB that can simulate blockchain on water distribution systems (WDS). WDSchain can import data from Excel and EPANET water modelling software. It extends the EPANET to enable simulation blockchain of the hydraulic data at any intended nodes. Using WDSchain will strengthen network automation and the security in WDS. WDSchain can process time-series data with two simulation modes: (1) static blockchain, which takes a snapshot of one-time interval data of all nodes in WDS as input and output into chained blocks at a time, and (2) dynamic blockchain, which takes all simulated time-series data of all the nodes as input and establishes chained blocks at the simulated time. Five consensus mechanisms are developed in WDSchain to provide data at different security levels using PoW, PoT, PoV, PoA, and PoAuth. Five different sizes of WDS are simulated in WDSchain for performance evaluation. The results show that a trade-off is needed between the system complexity and security level for data validation. The WDSchain provides a methodology to further explore the data validation using Blockchain to WDS. The limitations of WDSchain do not consider selection of blockchain nodes and broadcasting delay compared to commercial blockchain platforms.
Cybersecurity of photovoltaic (PV) systems entails a much larger scope than just encryption and firewall of communications. For instance, integrity of data in transit between inverters and a cloud server can be compromised by authorized third-party, devices, and internal network within security perimeter (i.e., man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack). To address this challenge, this paper proposes a blockchain-based MITM attack detection method for a PV system. A breakthrough method includes screening network data, network intrusion detection, and hash comparison of in-transit data using distributed ledgers. The proposed method is implemented in Internet-of-Thing (IoT) security modules as clients of a blockchain network and validated by experiments.
Blockchain technologies and smart contracts are getting more attention for potential smart grids applications as they are able to decentralize the data management in a secure and transparent way. In this work, a smart contract deployed in a simulated Ethereum blockchain is used to coordinate the decentralized solution of the Economic Dispatch (ED) problem of Distributed Generation (DG) units. The distributed optimization problem is first formulated and solved using the Alternating Directional Method of Multipliers (ADMM) and then a smart contract plays the role of the decentralized coordinator and data aggregator. Results from the combined simulation of the method are provided through a variety of scenarios, that investigate the efficacy and practical applicability of the method.
Abstract Demand response is recognized as an effective solution for eliminating power fluctuations and satisfying capacity constraints in power systems. A growing customer base equipped with energy storage and intelligent power meter on the demand side has resulted in the strong interest of China's power companies in demand response. However, most exiting demand response programs in China are based on a centralized framework, which is easier for management, but cannot support a large number of scattered small‐scale users' participation effectively. Therefore, taking the desired features of blockchain technology, such as decentralization, trustworthiness, trackability, and immutability into consideration, the applicability of blockchain in demand response is analyzed. On this basis, a new blockchain‐based framework of China's typical demand response programs is proposed, in which consensus mechanism, encryption algorithm, and smart contract of blockchain are applied to the process of invitation, bidding, and settlement in demand response. Furthermore, the development suggestions of China's demand response based on blockchain technology are put forward from the aspects of trading products, credit management, and platform construction at the end of this work.
Ümit Cali, Murat Kuzlu, Manisa Pipattanasomporn, Onur Elma · 5 authors
Renewable energy sources (RES) are among the most popular emerging energy\nresources during the past two decades. Many countries have introduced various\nenergy policy instruments, such as renewable energy certificates (RECs), to\nsupport the growth of RES. RECs are tradable non-tangible assets, which have a\nmonetary value. Tracking and certification of the origin of an energy resource\nregardless of its type (e.g., a conventional power plant or RES) is a critical\noperation. In addition to the certification of origin, trading transactions are\nneeded to be performed using a secure method. Energy industry participants need\nto secure the data and applications related to RECs. Distributed ledger\ntechnology (DLT) is a perfect framework that can support such REC\nfunctionalities. This paper addresses the cybersecurity aspects in REC trading\nusing Blockchain and a distributed ledger technology, considering detailed\ncybersecurity perspectives.\n
Smart grid (SG) systems necessitate secure demand response management (DRM) schemes for real-time decisions making to increase the effectiveness and stability of SG systems along with data security. Motivated from the aforementioned discussion, in this article, we propose Q-SDRM, a secure DRM scheme for home energy management (HEM) using reinforcement learning (RL) and ethereum blockchain (EBC) to facilitate energy consumption reduction and decrease energy costs. In cooperation with RL,$Q$-learning is adopted to make optimal price decisions using Markov decision process (MDP) to reduce energy consumption, which benefits both consumers and utility providers. Then, Q-SDRM uses ethereum smart-contract (ESC) to deal with data security issues and incorporate with off-chain storage interplanetary file system (IPFS) that handles data storage costs issue. Experimental results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed Q-SDRM scheme, which significantly reduces energy consumption and energy cost. The proposed scheme also provides secure access to energy data in real time compared with state-of-the-art approaches regarding different evaluation metrics, such as scalability, overall energy cost, and data storage cost.
Gomanth Bere, Bohyun Ahn, Justin J. Ochoa, Taesic Kim · 6 authors
The importance of cybersecurity for inverters has been significantly increasing as inverters become smarter by using advanced network and computing power from cyber systems. This paper explores potential attacks targeting firmware of smart inverters and how blockchain technology can be applied to mitigate the firmware modification attacks. A breakthrough method includes an automated firmware integrity check, an anomaly detection algorithm, and recovery creating patch using local distributed ledgers. The proposed method is implemented in Internet-of-Thing (IoT) security modules as clients of a blockchain network and validated by experiments. The proposed method is transformative to other networked power electronic devices.
The increasing amount of distributed energy resources including renewable energy systems and electric vehicles is expected to change electric power grids significantly, where conventional consumers are transformed to prosumers since they can produce electricity as well. In such an ecosystem, prosumers can start offering their excess energy to supply demands of the other customers on the grids behind the meter without interference of distribution system operators (DSO). Besides, DSOs require more accurate and more frequent data form prosumers' net demand to be able to operate their network efficiently. The main challenge in these new distribution grids is the amount of data that needs to be collected in this platform is unbelievably high, and more immortally, prosumers will likely refuse to share their information with DSOs due to their potential privacy and economic concerns. Blockchain technology as an efficient distributed solution for management of data and financial transactions, has been considered to solve this trust issue. With blockchain-based solutions, data and financial transactions between all parties will take placed through distributed ledgers without any interference from an intermediary. In this paper, impacts of blockchain technologies on electric power industry is studied. The paper specifically focuses on LO3 Energy -- one of startups applying blockchain to electric power grids -- their blockchain-based solution called Exergy, and their use cases to implement such solutions.
TeraFlow proposes a new type of secure, cloud-native Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller that will radically advance the state-of-the-art in beyond 5G networks by introducing novel micro-services architecture, and provide revolutionary features for both flow management (service layer) and optical/microwave network equipment integration (infras-tructure layer) by adapting new data models. TeraFlow will also incorporate security using Machine Learning (ML) and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy based on Distributed Ledgers. Finally, this new SDN controller shall be able to integrate with the current Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) frameworks as well as to other networks. The target pool of TeraFlow stakeholders expands beyond the traditional telecom operators towards edge and hyperscale cloud providers.
With the development of the energy Internet, more distributed generators are connected to the power grid, resulting in numerous heterogeneous energy networks. However, different energy networks cannot perform efficient energy trading in the centralized management mode, this deeply affecting the complementary ability of heterogeneous energy, resulting in the islanded energy phenomenon. In this model, the same energy on the chain is traded within the chain, and the heterogeneous energy on different chains is traded across chains. To trade energy between heterogeneous energy networks more efficiently, the blockchain-based cross-chain model is proposed based on the existing infrastructure. Heterogeneous energy nodes are assigned to different energy sub-chains and cross-chain energy transactions are performed through a relay-chain, which utilizes the improved Boneh–Lynn–Shacham signature scheme consensus algorithm based on the proof-of-stake and practical Byzantine fault tolerance. The experimental simulations on energy trading efficiency, throughput, and security, show its superiority over existing systems. Further, the simulation results provide a reference for the application of cross-chain technology in energy interconnection.
Nikita Karandikar, Antorweep Chakravorty, Chunming Rong
Renewable energy microgeneration is rising leading to creation of prosumer communities making it possible to extract value from surplus energy and usage flexibility. Such a peer-to-peer energy trading community requires a decentralized, immutable and access-controlled transaction system for tokenized energy assets. In this study we present a unified blockchain-based system for energy asset transactions among prosumers, electric vehicles, power companies and storage providers. Two versions of the system were implemented on Hyperledger Fabric. Assets encapsulating an identifier or unique information along with value are modelled as non-fungible tokens (NFT), while those representing value only are modelled as fungible tokens (FT). We developed the associated algorithms for token lifecycle management, analyzed their complexities and encoded them in smart contracts for performance testing. The results show that performance of both implementations are comparable for most major operations. Further, we presented a detailed comparison of FT and NFT implementations based on use-case, design, performance, advantages and disadvantages. Our implementation achieved a throughput of 448.3 transactions per second for the slowest operation (transfer) with a reasonably low infrastructure.
Nowaday, centralized smart grid systems encounter many challenges to peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, such as communications overhead, security, and privacy issues. Blockchain-based energy trading has been proposed as a possible solution to the above problems. This paper proposes a secure and automated blockchain-based framework that allows energy producers and consumers to conduct energy trade without intermediate entity interaction. Smart contracts have been established to automate the energy trade based on an agreement energy-relevant both from the supply and demand sides without third parties. In a smart contract, if all transactions are successful, the energy trade will take place. We used the Solidity programming language and Metamask wallet to create the smart contract. Then, smart contract implementation results in the Ropsten blockchain network are tested and compared with related works. According to the analysis, the proposed framework has enhanced security and privacy.