Unmasking Covert Intrusions: Detection of Fault-Masking Cyberattacks on Differential Protection Systems

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Saber, Ahmad Mohammad, Youssef, Amr, Svetinovic, Davor, Zeineldin, Hatem, El-Saadany, Ehab F.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866929490025775104
author Saber, Ahmad Mohammad
Youssef, Amr
Svetinovic, Davor
Zeineldin, Hatem
El-Saadany, Ehab F.
author_facet Saber, Ahmad Mohammad
Youssef, Amr
Svetinovic, Davor
Zeineldin, Hatem
El-Saadany, Ehab F.
contents Line Current Differential Relays (LCDRs) are high-speed relays progressively used to protect critical transmission lines. However, LCDRs are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Fault-Masking Attacks (FMAs) are stealthy cyberattacks performed by manipulating the remote measurements of the targeted LCDR to disguise faults on the protected line. Hence, they remain undetected by this LCDR. In this paper, we propose a two-module framework to detect FMAs. The first module is a Mismatch Index (MI) developed from the protected transmission line's equivalent physical model. The MI is triggered only if there is a significant mismatch in the LCDR's local and remote measurements while the LCDR itself is untriggered, which indicates an FMA. After the MI is triggered, the second module, a neural network-based classifier, promptly confirms that the triggering event is a physical fault that lies on the line protected by the LCDR before declaring the occurrence of an FMA. The proposed framework is tested using the IEEE 39-bus benchmark system. Our simulation results confirm that the proposed framework can accurately detect FMAs on LCDRs and is not affected by normal system disturbances, variations, or measurement noise. Our experimental results using OPAL-RT's real-time simulator confirm the proposed solution's real-time performance capability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_04242
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unmasking Covert Intrusions: Detection of Fault-Masking Cyberattacks on Differential Protection Systems
Saber, Ahmad Mohammad
Youssef, Amr
Svetinovic, Davor
Zeineldin, Hatem
El-Saadany, Ehab F.
Systems and Control
Cryptography and Security
Machine Learning
Signal Processing
Line Current Differential Relays (LCDRs) are high-speed relays progressively used to protect critical transmission lines. However, LCDRs are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Fault-Masking Attacks (FMAs) are stealthy cyberattacks performed by manipulating the remote measurements of the targeted LCDR to disguise faults on the protected line. Hence, they remain undetected by this LCDR. In this paper, we propose a two-module framework to detect FMAs. The first module is a Mismatch Index (MI) developed from the protected transmission line's equivalent physical model. The MI is triggered only if there is a significant mismatch in the LCDR's local and remote measurements while the LCDR itself is untriggered, which indicates an FMA. After the MI is triggered, the second module, a neural network-based classifier, promptly confirms that the triggering event is a physical fault that lies on the line protected by the LCDR before declaring the occurrence of an FMA. The proposed framework is tested using the IEEE 39-bus benchmark system. Our simulation results confirm that the proposed framework can accurately detect FMAs on LCDRs and is not affected by normal system disturbances, variations, or measurement noise. Our experimental results using OPAL-RT's real-time simulator confirm the proposed solution's real-time performance capability.
title Unmasking Covert Intrusions: Detection of Fault-Masking Cyberattacks on Differential Protection Systems
topic Systems and Control
Cryptography and Security
Machine Learning
Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.04242