Modern smart grids offer several types of digital control and monitoring of electric power transmission and distribution that enable greater efficiency and integrative functionality than traditional power grids. These benefits, however, introduce greater complexity and greatly disrupt and expand the threat landscape. The number of vulnerabilities is increasing as grid-connected devices proliferate. The potential costs to society of these vulnerabilities are difficult to determine, as are their likelihoods of successful exploitation. In this article, we present a method for comparing the net economic benefits and costs of the various cyber-functionalities associated with smart grids from the perspective of cyberattack vulnerabilities and defending against them. The economic considerations of cyber defense spending suggest the existence of optimal levels of expenditures, which might vary among digital functionalities. We illustrate hypothetical case studies on how digital functionalities can be assessed and compared with respect to the costs of defending them from cyberattacks.
翻译:现代智能电网提供数类数字控制和监测电力传输和分配,从而比传统电网提高效率和综合功能,但这些好处带来更大的复杂性,大大扰乱和扩大威胁面貌,随着电网装置的激增,脆弱程度正在增加;这些脆弱程度对社会的潜在代价难以确定,这些弱点的利用成功的可能性也难以确定;在本篇文章中,我们提出了一个方法,从网络攻击脆弱性的角度比较与智能电网有关的各种网络功能的净经济效益和成本,并防范这些功能;网络防御支出的经济考虑表明存在最佳支出水平,这些支出水平在数字功能之间可能有所不同;我们举例说明关于如何评估数字功能和比较保护这些功能免受网络攻击的成本的假设案例研究。