IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i10p2818-d554501.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the Design of IoT Security: Analysis of Software Vulnerabilities for Smart Grids

Author

Listed:
  • Christos-Minas Mathas

    (Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripolis, Greece)

  • Costas Vassilakis

    (Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripolis, Greece)

  • Nicholas Kolokotronis

    (Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripolis, Greece)

  • Charilaos C. Zarakovitis

    (Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, 15341 Athens, Greece
    Innovation Department, Axon Logic P. C., 14231 Athens, Greece)

  • Michail-Alexandros Kourtis

    (Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, 15341 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

The 5G communication network will underpin a vast number of new and emerging services, paving the way for unprecedented performance and capabilities in mobile networks. In this setting, the Internet of Things (IoT) will proliferate, and IoT devices will be included in many 5G application contexts, including the Smart Grid. Even though 5G technology has been designed by taking security into account, design provisions may be undermined by software-rooted vulnerabilities in IoT devices that allow threat actors to compromise the devices, demote confidentiality, integrity and availability, and even pose risks for the operation of the power grid critical infrastructures. In this paper, we assess the current state of the vulnerabilities in IoT software utilized in smart grid applications from a source code point of view. To that end, we identified and analyzed open-source software that is used in the power grid and the IoT domain that varies in characteristics and functionality, ranging from operating systems to communication protocols, allowing us to obtain a more complete view of the vulnerability landscape. The results of this study can be used in the domain of software development, to enhance the security of produced software, as well as in the domain of automated software testing, targeting improvements to vulnerability detection mechanisms, especially with a focus on the reduction of false positives.

Suggested Citation

  • Christos-Minas Mathas & Costas Vassilakis & Nicholas Kolokotronis & Charilaos C. Zarakovitis & Michail-Alexandros Kourtis, 2021. "On the Design of IoT Security: Analysis of Software Vulnerabilities for Smart Grids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-27, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2818-:d:554501
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2818/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2818/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sofana Reka. S & Tomislav Dragičević & Pierluigi Siano & S.R. Sahaya Prabaharan, 2019. "Future Generation 5G Wireless Networks for Smart Grid: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Mohamad El Hariri & Eric Harmon & Tarek Youssef & Mahmoud Saleh & Hany Habib & Osama Mohammed, 2019. "The IEC 61850 Sampled Measured Values Protocol: Analysis, Threat Identification, and Feasibility of Using NN Forecasters to Detect Spoofed Packets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-24, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jianguo Ding & Attia Qammar & Zhimin Zhang & Ahmad Karim & Huansheng Ning, 2022. "Cyber Threats to Smart Grids: Review, Taxonomy, Potential Solutions, and Future Directions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-37, September.
    2. Wioletta Knapik & Magdalena Katarzyna Kowalska & Monika Odlanicka-Poczobutt & Marek Kasperek, 2022. "The Internet of Things through Internet Access Using an Electrical Power Transmission System (Power Line Communication) to Improve Digital Competencies and Quality of Life of Selected Social Groups in," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Aneesh A. Chand & Maria Malvoni & Kushal A. Prasad & Kabir A. Mamun & F.R. Islam & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2020. "Distributed Energy Resources and the Application of AI, IoT, and Blockchain in Smart Grids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-42, November.
    2. Matthew Boeding & Kelly Boswell & Michael Hempel & Hamid Sharif & Juan Lopez & Kalyan Perumalla, 2022. "Survey of Cybersecurity Governance, Threats, and Countermeasures for the Power Grid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Zeljko Martinovic & Martin Dadic & Branimir Ivsic & Roman Malaric, 2019. "An Adiabatic Coaxial Line for Microcalorimeter Power Measurements in Wireless Communication for Smart Grid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Alaa Alaerjan, 2023. "Automatic Recognition of Beam Attachment for Massive MIMO System in Densely Distributed Renewable Energy Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Ibrahim Abaker Targio Hashem & Raja Sher Afgun Usmani & Mubarak S. Almutairi & Ashraf Osman Ibrahim & Abubakar Zakari & Faiz Alotaibi & Saadat Mehmood Alhashmi & Haruna Chiroma, 2023. "Urban Computing for Sustainable Smart Cities: Recent Advances, Taxonomy, and Open Research Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-32, February.
    6. Edward Smith & Duane Robinson & Ashish Agalgaonkar, 2021. "Cooperative Control of Microgrids: A Review of Theoretical Frameworks, Applications and Recent Developments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-34, December.
    7. Jiayu Cheng & Dongliang Duan & Xiang Cheng & Liuqing Yang & Shuguang Cui, 2021. "Adaptive Control for Energy Exchange with Probabilistic Interval Predictors in Isolated Microgrids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-23, January.
    8. Ali Gohar & Gianfranco Nencioni, 2021. "The Role of 5G Technologies in a Smart City: The Case for Intelligent Transportation System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-24, May.
    9. Daisy Nkele Molokomme & Chabalala S. Chabalala & Pitshou N. Bokoro, 2020. "A Review of Cognitive Radio Smart Grid Communication Infrastructure Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, June.
    10. Junho Hong & Tai-Jin Song & Hyojong Lee & Aydin Zaboli, 2022. "Automated Cybersecurity Tester for IEC61850-Based Digital Substations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Lilia Tightiz & Hyosik Yang & Mohammad Jalil Piran, 2020. "A Survey on Enhanced Smart Micro-Grid Management System with Modern Wireless Technology Contribution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, May.
    12. Arman Goudarzi & Farzad Ghayoor & Muhammad Waseem & Shah Fahad & Issa Traore, 2022. "A Survey on IoT-Enabled Smart Grids: Emerging, Applications, Challenges, and Outlook," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-32, September.
    13. Constantin Aurelian Ionescu & Melinda Timea Fülöp & Dan Ioan Topor & Sorinel Căpușneanu & Teodora Odett Breaz & Sorina Geanina Stănescu & Mihaela Denisa Coman, 2021. "The New Era of Business Digitization through the Implementation of 5G Technology in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, December.
    14. Abrar Mahi-al-rashid & Fahmid Hossain & Adnan Anwar & Sami Azam, 2022. "False Data Injection Attack Detection in Smart Grid Using Energy Consumption Forecasting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Zubair Khalid & Ghulam Abbas & Muhammad Awais & Thamer Alquthami & Muhammad Babar Rasheed, 2020. "A Novel Load Scheduling Mechanism Using Artificial Neural Network Based Customer Profiles in Smart Grid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-23, February.
    16. Hui, Hongxun & Ding, Yi & Shi, Qingxin & Li, Fangxing & Song, Yonghua & Yan, Jinyue, 2020. "5G network-based Internet of Things for demand response in smart grid: A survey on application potential," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2818-:d:554501. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.