Interconnection of Devices to Enable Communication – IT Assignment Help

Assignment Task

Introduction
Computer networks are the interconnection of devices to enable communication. The interconnection could be done in a home set up (forming home area network), locally (forming local area network), or worldwide (forming a wide area network). However, the most important part of such a connection is communication. Without communication, the interconnection is not of value. At the same time, the interconnection also consumes massive resources. This led to the development of the conventional electrical grid. Conventional electrical grids are characterized as centralized power facilities that offer electricity to clients or consumers on a continuous basis. The traditional method of distributing loads (components that consume power) at the customer’s facilities was to do so with little control and monitoring of the power use. There is a rising necessity for the building of extensive power infrastructure throughout the globe in order to sustain economic progress. The management and control of equipment and loads have been improved as a result of technological advancements. These pieces of equipment and loads are either programmed to operate on a timetable or designed to monitor specified characteristics. A new and intelligent power system is being enabled by the integration of communications and information technology with conventional electric power networks. This is commonly known as the smart grid system.

According to Zhang, Wang & Chen (2020), a smart grid is an electrical network that allows devices to communicate between providers and customers, enabling them to control demand, safeguard the distribution network, conserve energy, and cut prices. Smart grids are becoming more popular today, which has made hackers focus on the area, as suggested by Shin and Cho (2018). It is undeniable that hacking smart grid systems might have catastrophic effects on our everyday lives, resulting in the failure of essential infrastructure and the disruption of the global economy. The upshot is that smart grid systems must be secured against an increasing number of cyber threats. They are, nevertheless, more complex in terms of cybersecurity because of their greater adaptability and extended capabilities. The new applications and new smart grid technologies adoption, such as smart appliances, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart meters, and customer energy management systems, may result in theemergence of new and unforeseen privacy dangers and issues. When dealing with a complex system that incorporates electricity production, transmission, and distribution, the duty for data center safety extends beyond the traditional confines of the data center. In one instance, an assailant may ignite a power line, purposely or accidentally, to endanger human life (Pilz et al., 2020). Additionally, de-energization might be done on a power line to interfere with control systems and transmission, which has a detrimental influence on the safety of personnel and the general public.

To effectively avoid and respond to security events, IT professionals, cybersecurity specialists, and end-users should learn all of the necessary practical skills and knowledge in a variety of fields. Traditional training and education methodologies, on the other hand, sometimes fall short of covering issues such as automation (for the renewables integration), information and communications technology (ICT) (cybersecurity, computer networks/protocols), and other physical areas (Pilz et al., 2020). These kinds of involvements can only be learned by hands-on learning, such as through co-simulation of smart grid assault. Depending on the interface and runtime of the simulation models, co-duplication entails the execution of two simulation design coordinative (Le et al., 2020). Furthermore, it is a sophisticated network and a system connected with the electrical grid.Consequently, co-simulation technology is offered as a new enabler approach to deal with the intricacies of the situation. To the best understanding, restriction to this area research and the topic has not been completely utilized despite growing consternation concerning the benefits and problems of smart grid analysis on vulnerability. This project, therefore, intends to use a unique co-simulation framework dubbed GridAttackSim. The framework allows for the modeling of smart grid infrastructure features, the simulation of various cybersecurity assaults, and the evaluation of their repercussions (Le et al., 2020). This will be vital for identifying attacks on the smart grid system and their impact on computer networks and power circuits; hence, a model to prevent such attacks can be developed. Therefore, this project will have great significance in cyber security as it will help foresee the extent of different attacks such as malicious code, injection, and code naming. The results will help not only to prevent attacks but also help in modeling better security measures.
 

Background
A smart grid system comprises two main components, which are the networking model and the power system. According to Le et al. (2019)., the network model is divided into layers to enable the sending and receiving data by dividing the data into small pieces. The power segment is responsible for relaying the data from one point to another. The network model can either be a local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), or home area network (HAN). Bracho et al. (2018) define LAN as an interconnection of computers within a limited coverage area like a school or a restaurant HAN is an interconnection within close vicinity like a home. WAN is an interconnection of computers to communicate with each other that cover a wide geographical area. This means that LAN networks can interconnect to form the WAN network model. With many small networks included in WAN, it can make the system even more complex an example is commonly known as the internet (Wijaksono et al., 2016). All these networking technologies facilitate communication between the interconnection. Cyber attackers can target the connections to use the connection to send vital data to a given destination.The power system on smart grids is developed to implement Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and smart meters. SCADA synchronization is responsible for the distribution, while smart meters work as synchro-sensors (Tundis et al., 2020). The attacker can also focus on this through the network layer, making it necessary to conduct a simulation on the smart grid about cyber-attacks.
 

Literature Review
There are studies that have focussed on simulating cyber-attacks on smart grid systems. It is vital in every study to review past studies as it helps form background information on the topic. This section discusses the literature on cyber security on smart grid systems. It will focus on two themes identified through the review process. The two themes discussed in this section are types of attacks on the smart grid system and the countermeasures from simulation studies.

The first attack identified in the study is the denial of service attack. According to the simulation study conducted by Wijaksono, Abdullah, and Hakim (2016) using TASSCS, a denial of service attack was identified. Bracho et al. (2018) suggest this kind of attack attempts to bring down a computer or network, rendering it unavailable to the targeted users. DoS attacks do this by flooding the target with traffic or by feeding it information that causes the target to crash and shut down. Another study by Duy Le et al. (2019) affirms that this kind of attack can make an organization have financial losses. Shin & Cho (2018) suggest that jamming is the method that can be applied to simulating such an attack. Therefore, there is a need to perform a simulation using the jamming technique to find the impact of such an attack on the network and power system.

The second attack identified by the study is SQL injection. The simulation study by Awad, Bazan, and German (2014) indicates that SQL injection is also a type of attack that hackers perform. It is a sort of cyber assault in which an attacker uses SQL (Structured Query Language) script to modify a database and get access to potentially valuable information, such as credit card numbers. Because it can be employed against any online application or website that uses a SQL-based database, it is one of the most common and potentially dangerous forms of attack (Shin & Cho, 2018). Therefore, the simulation conducted by Mallouhi et al. (2011), Le et al. (2020), and Pilz et al. (2020) all focused on this attack. However, they were majorly focused on local area networks hence a need for better simulation that in cooperating power systems.

Another attack that hackers exploit is known as a malicious code attack. According to the study by Gunduz & Das (2020), malware attacks are a popular kind of cyberattack in which malware (often malicious software) is used to carry out illegal operations on the victim’s computer system. Malicious software (sometimes known as a virus) comprises many specialized forms of assaults, including ransomware, spyware, command and control, and other types of attacks. In addition, Pilz et al. (2020) suggest that simulating this type of attack is necessary to determine the attack’s impact on smart grid systems. Therefore, the study by Wijaksono, Abdullah, and Hakim (2016) and Gunduz & Das (2020) had focused on these attacks in line with the network system, leaving the power system. The studies suggest that there is a need to do a simulation to cooperate the impact of such attacks on both network and power systems.

Countermeasures of cyber attacksFirewalls, VPN, and content filtering are among some methods used to counter denial of service attacks. Gunduz & Das (2020) suggest that denial of service can be countered by securing the infrastructure using firewalls, VPN, content filtering, anti-spam, among others. The study by Pilz et al. (2020) adds that performing a network vulnerability assessment will identify the weak points that the hacker might use to trigger the attacks. The two studies combining both methods suggested by the studies will help to provide a better countermeasure for denial of service attacks.The reviewed studies indicated that SQL injections could be countered by using prepared query statements. According to Le et al. (2020), a countermeasure for SQL injection is to use prepared statements that include query parameterization. This is considered the most effective barrier against SQL injections. Another simulation study by Mihal et al. (2021) that deals with stored procedures require parameterization. The use of stored procedures, many people assume, is an effective method of preventing SQL injection; however, this is not always the case, as the study by Wijaksono et al. (2016) indicated. It can be concluded that the best method for countering SQL injection is by using prepared query statements that are parametrized.From the reviewed studies, malware attacks can be countered using antiviruses. The simulation study by Nivette et al. (2021) suggests that the best method for countering malware attacks is using antiviruses. Tundis et al. (2017) suggested antiviruses work by identifying any malicious code and blocking it before executing it on the target computers. In addition, the study by Pilz et al. (2020 suggested that antiviruses are commonly used because they perform well on blocking malware, with a success rate of more than 80% for most premium versions of antivirus. This shows that premium antiviruses perform efficiently in blacking malware attacks.Literature gapsSome existing simulations frameworks and techniques cover the above attacks on smart grid systems. Most of the modelling approaches are used to simulate both power grids and communication networks and are most often utilized in small networks like local area networks with restricted coverage. The construction and usage of existing co-simulation frameworks are both time-consuming and difficult. In the area of simulating these attacks, research is scarce. In addition, the possibility to arrange assaults in co-simulation tool has been left out of in most research.
Proposed Project
The proposed project aims at performing a simulation of cyber-attacks discussed in the literature review using the Simulink. This section identifies the opportunities and goes ahead to discuss the motivation of the current project.Identification of OpportunitiesThe proposed smart grid attack simulator is called the Simulink. The approach makes it possible to integrate the power grid and the communication network and allows for executing a variety of intrusion simulations.