Securing the Industrial Internet of Things: Cybersecurity for Distributed Energy Resources

This project explores several scenarios in which information exchanges among commercial and utility scale distributed energy resources (DERs) and electric distribution grid operations can be protected from certain cybersecurity compromises. Components of these infrastructures form what is commonly known as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In this project, the IIoT comprises interconnected sensors, data transfer and communications systems, instruments, and other commercial off-the-shelf devices networked together. This project focuses on demonstrating data integrity and malware prevention, detection, and mitigation, by using existing commercial and open-source cybersecurity products to reduce the IIoT attack surface for DERs. These information exchanges can create increased cybersecurity risk for distribution utilities, DER operators, and the overall electric grid. Reducing the attack surface with existing cybersecurity products contributes to reducing and managing cybersecurity risk. This project will result in a freely available NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide.