Cyber security assessment in PMU-based state estimation of smart electric transmission networks

Cyber security assessment in PMU-based state estimation of smart electric transmission networks The adoption of a massive number of synchronized phasor measurement units (PMUs) supporting the wide-area measurement system (WAMS) in current electric transmission networks brings direct benefit in provision of accurate and timely network measurements, but also exposes a set of outstanding technical challenges in security aspect. This paper looks into the security problem of state estimation in WAMS in the context of cyber-physical system (CPS) which often exhibits complex structural characteristics and dynamic operational phenomenon. Typical attacks on PMUs and adverse impact onnetwork state estimation are explored and studied through carrying out a set of simulation experiments using the IEEE 14-bus transmission network model. The preliminary numerical result quantifies the impact of PMU measurement data tampering on the state estimation accuracy and confirms that the PMU-based state estimation potentially can be significantly affected by various forms of cyber attacks.