Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are interconnected architectures that employ analog and digital components as well as communication and computational resources for their operation and interaction with the physical environment. CPS constitute the backbone of enterprise (e.g., smart cities), industrial (e.g., smart manufacturing), and critical infrastructure (e.g., energy systems). Thus, their vital importance, interoperability, and plurality of computing devices make them prominent targets for malicious attacks aiming to disrupt their operations. Attacks targeting cyber-physical energy systems (CPES), given their mission-critical nature within the power grid infrastructure, can lead to disastrous consequences. The security of CPES can be enhanced by leveraging testbed capabilities in order to replicate and understand power systems operating conditions, discover vulnerabilities, develop security countermeasures, and evaluate grid operation under fault-induced or maliciously constructed scenarios. Adequately modeling and reproducing the behavior of CPS could be a challenging task. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the CPS security landscape with an emphasis on CPES. Specifically, we demonstrate a threat modeling methodology to accurately represent the CPS elements, their interdependencies, as well as the possible attack entry points and system vulnerabilities. Leveraging the threat model formulation, we present a CPS framework designed to delineate the hardware, software, and modeling resources required to simulate the CPS and construct high-fidelity models that can be used to evaluate the system's performance under adverse scenarios. The system performance is assessed using scenario-specific metrics, while risk assessment enables the system vulnerability prioritization factoring the impact on the system operation. The overarching framework for modeling, simulating, assessing, and mitigating attacks in a CPS is illustrated using four representative attack scenarios targeting CPES. The key objective of this paper is to demonstrate a step-by-step process that can be used to enact in-depth cybersecurity analyses, thus leading to more resilient and secure CPS.

The digitization and decentralization of the electric power grid are key thrusts for an economically and environmentally sustainable future. Toward this goal, distributed energy resources (DER), including rooftop solar panels, battery storage, electric vehicles, etc., are becoming ubiquitous in power systems. Power utilities benefit from DERs as they minimize operational costs; at the same time, DERs grant users and aggregators control over the power they produce and consume. DERs are interconnected, interoperable, and support remotely controllable features; thus, their cybersecurity is of cardinal importance. DER communication dependencies and the diversity of DER architectures widen the threat surface and aggravate the cybersecurity posture of power systems. In this work, we focus on security oversights that reside in the cyber and physical layers of DERs and can jeopardize grid operations. The existing works have underlined the impact of cyberattacks targeting DER assets; however, they either focus on specific system components (e.g., communication protocols), do not consider the mission-critical objectives of DERs, or neglect the adversarial perspective (e.g., adversary/attack models) altogether. To address these omissions, we comprehensively analyze adversarial capabilities and objectives when manipulating DER assets, and then present how protocol and device-level vulnerabilities can materialize into cyberattacks impacting power system operations. Finally, we provide mitigation strategies to thwart adversaries and directions for future DER cybersecurity research.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming ubiquitous in our lives, with applications spanning from the consumer domain to commercial and industrial systems. The steep growth and vast adoption of IoT devices reinforce the importance of sound and robust cybersecurity practices during the device development life cycles. IoT-related vulnerabilities, if successfully exploited can affect, not only the device itself but also the application field in which the IoT device operates. Evidently, identifying and addressing every single vulnerability are an arduous, if not impossible, task. Attack taxonomies can assist in classifying attacks and their corresponding vulnerabilities. Security countermeasures and best practices can then be leveraged to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities before they emerge into catastrophic attacks and ensure overall secure IoT operation. Therefore, in this article, we provide an attack taxonomy, which takes into consideration the different layers of the IoT stack, i.e., device, infrastructure, communication, and service, and each layer’s designated characteristics, which can be exploited by adversaries. Furthermore, using nine real-world cybersecurity incidents that had targeted IoT devices deployed in the consumer, commercial, and industrial sectors, we describe the IoT-related vulnerabilities, exploitation procedures, attacks, impacts, and potential mitigation mechanisms and protection strategies. These (and many other) incidents highlight the underlying security concerns of IoT systems and demonstrate the potential attack impacts of such connected ecosystems, while the proposed taxonomy provides a systematic procedure to categorize attacks based on the affected layer and corresponding impact.

Over the last decade, the number of cyber attacks targeting power systems and causing physical and economic damages has increased rapidly. Among them, false data injection attacks (FDIAs) are a class of cyber‐attacks against power grid monitoring systems. Adversaries can successfully perform FDIAs to manipulate the power system state estimation (SE) by compromising sensors or modifying system data. SE is an essential process performed by the energy management system towards estimating unknown state variables based on system redundant measurements and network topology. SE routines include bad data detection algorithms to eliminate errors from the acquired measurements, e.g. in case of sensor failures. FDIAs can bypass BDD modules to inject malicious data vectors into a subset of measurements without being detected, and thus manipulate the results of the SE process. To overcome the limitations of traditional residual‐based BDD approaches, data‐driven solutions based on machine learning algorithms have been widely adopted for detecting malicious manipulation of sensor data due to their fast execution times and accurate results. This study provides a comprehensive review of the most up‐to‐date machine learning methods for detecting FDIAs against power system SE algorithms.

Blockchain is an underlying technology for securing many real-time applications and their data. The automobile is one such sector in which auto-manufacturers are looking forward to accepting the advantages of distributed ledger technology in autonomous vehicles or systems and improving their products, customer satisfaction, and other valuable experiences. This work aims to find the significance of blockchain technology in Autonomous Vehicles, including Autonomous Electric Vehicles (AEV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV), Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAeV), and Autonomous Driving. In this work, a comparative analysis of blockchain-integrated autonomous vehicle systems is explored to identify the present scenario and futuristic challenges. In addition to blockchain technology, the uses and importance of sensors, architectures and infrastructure requirements, vehicle types, driving modes, vehicles target and tracking approaches, intelligent contracts, intelligent data handling, and industry-specific use cases are also explored. This study is based on the exploration of recent technologies and practices. As autonomous vehicles are expected to be the future of intelligent transportation, this paper surveys recent advances in autonomous vehicles and systems and how blockchain can help in improving user experiences and improving industry practices. Finally, limitations of work, future research directions, and challenges associated with different autonomous vehicles and systems are presented.

This paper summarizes the technical endeavors undertaken by the Task Force (TF) on Cyber-Physical Interdependence for Power System Operation and Control. The TF was established to investigate the cyber-physical interdependence of critical power system elements and their influence on the operation and control of energy systems. State-of-the-art analysis techniques, including co-simulation and digital twin technologies, are employed to address various layers of interdependence between cyber and physical systems, facilitating the identification of potential threats and vulnerabilities. The paper examines prospective trajectories for resilient cyber-physical systems and outlines the educational and workforce training imperatives for addressing cybersecurity threats in contemporary power systems. Furthermore, concluding remarks and future recommendations are provided to mitigate the inherent vulnerabilities within the extensively interoperable grid infrastructure.