Distributed renewable energy resource trust metrics and secure routing

• Published in: Computers & security Vol. 88
• Main Authors: Obert, James, Chavez, Adrian R., Johnson, Jay Tillay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier 24.09.2019
• Subjects: Grid security; Grid trust; MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING; Network anomaly detection; Network security; Trusted communications
• ISSN: 0167-4048; 1872-6208

To ensure reliable and predictable service in the electrical grid between distributed renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) it is important to gauge the level of trust present within critical components and DER aggregators (DERAs). Although trust throughout a smart grid is temporal and dynamically varies according to measured states, it is possible to accurately formulate communications and service level strategies based on such trust measurements. Utilizing an effective set of machine learning and statistical methods, it is shown that establishment of trust levels between DERAs using behavioral pattern analysis is possible. Further, it is also shown that the establishment of such trust can facilitate simple secure communications routing between DERAs. Providing secure routing between DERAs enables a grid operator to maintain service level agreements to its customers, reduce the attack surface and increase operational resiliency.