A Comprehensive Survey on Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript explores several aspects crucial to the security and resilience of smart grid systems, discussing existing standards for securing smart grids and detailing various cyberattack scenarios that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of smart-grid control systems. It also examines potential technologies needed for a secure and resilient smart grid in the future and provides summaries of testbeds used to simulate cyberattack scenarios. Additionally, the manuscript highlights various challenges in smart grid cybersecurity.

There is a discrepancy between the manuscript's title as submitted and its title in the submission system. The title of the manuscript is "Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids," while the title in the submission system reads "A Comprehensive Survey on Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids," the latter appearing to be the correct version.

The manuscript should provide the full name of CAGR as mentioned (line 13).

Reference 1 (Kalman, R.E. "A New Approach to Linear Filtering and Prediction Problems") does not substantiate the claim that “The demand for microgrids has significantly increased in the past decade, attributed to global market and government trends, with a market valuation of £20 billion.”

The terms “microgrid” and “smart grid” are used interchangeably in section 1 without clear differentiation; the authors need to define these terms distinctly to clarify the manuscript’s scope.

The manuscript claims to introduce applications and enabling techniques in microgrids, including distributed energy resource (DER), distributed management system (DMS), power control system, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), energy scheduling, and dynamic pricing (line 61). However, the sections on energy scheduling and dynamic pricing are missing from the text.

The manuscript asserts that it proposes secure and resilient frameworks incorporating cybersecurity measures, redundancy, real-time monitoring, and situational awareness (line 76). Yet, the frameworks described in section 2 are already established in existing standards.

Section 3’s organization needs reevaluation. It starts with a general classification of cyber-physical attacks (section 3.1) and follows with specific attack types in sections 3.2 and 3.3, before discussing more advanced cyberattacks in section 3.4 and historical cyberattack scenarios in section 3.5. Sections 3.2 to 3.4 should be reorganized, and the titles of subsections in section 3 need revision.

The full names of ZDA (line 241), AES, and DES (line 305) should be provided, as well as the full names of SSE (static state estimation, line 382) and DSE (dynamic state estimation, line 385).

Section 4.5, discussing smart grid testbeds, should be placed in a separate section (line 603). Citations are needed for tools like Real Time Digital Simulation (RTDS), DIgSILENT PowerFactory, Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT), and YALMIP toolbox (lines 605-611), and for testbeds mentioned in section 4.5.2.

Tables 2 to 5 are not referenced in the text, and their inclusion should be clarified.

 

Given these observations, I recommend a major revision of the manuscript.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The manuscript is well-written and the quality of English is good.

Author Response

The manuscript explores several aspects crucial to the security and resilience of smart grid systems, discussing existing standards for securing smart grids and detailing various cyberattack scenarios that could compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of smart-grid control systems. It also examines potential technologies needed for a secure and resilient smart grid in the future and provides summaries of testbeds used to simulate cyberattack scenarios. Additionally, the manuscript highlights various challenges in smart grid cybersecurity.

There is a discrepancy between the manuscript's title as submitted and its title in the submission system. The title of the manuscript is "Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids," while the title in the submission system reads "A Comprehensive Survey on Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids," the latter appearing to be the correct version.

Thank you. We have changed the article title to "A Comprehensive Survey on Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids".

The manuscript should provide the full name of CAGR as mentioned (line 13).

Thank you. We have rewrote the first paragraph in Introduction and all changes have been highlighted in red.

Reference 1 (Kalman, R.E. "A New Approach to Linear Filtering and Prediction Problems") does not substantiate the claim that “The demand for microgrids has significantly increased in the past decade, attributed to global market and government trends, with a market valuation of £20 billion.”

Thank you. We rewrote the first paragraph in Introduction.

The terms “microgrid” and “smart grid” are used interchangeably in section 1 without clear differentiation; the authors need to define these terms distinctly to clarify the manuscript’s scope.

Thank you. This article is mainly focusing on the Secure and Resilient Smart Grid. The microgrid is mentioned as a part of the concept under the smart grid. We rewrote the first paragraph to claim their differences and relation.

The manuscript claims to introduce applications and enabling techniques in microgrids, including distributed energy resource (DER), distributed management system (DMS), power control system, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), energy scheduling, and dynamic pricing (line 61). However, the sections on energy scheduling and dynamic pricing are missing from the text.

Thank you. Energy Scheduling and Dynamic Pricing are two main functions existed in between Distribution Substation and Customer, which is not included in the scope of this article. We also updated the contributions of this work to eliminate the misunderstanding.

The manuscript asserts that it proposes secure and resilient frameworks incorporating cybersecurity measures, redundancy, real-time monitoring, and situational awareness (line 76). Yet, the frameworks described in section 2 are already established in existing standards.

Thank you. This work is a comprehensive survey by applying cyber-physical attacks and detections methods to the well-known secure and resilient frameworks (as you mentioned NISTIR 7628 and NIAC).

Section 3’s organization needs reevaluation. It starts with a general classification of cyber-physical attacks (section 3.1) and follows with specific attack types in sections 3.2 and 3.3, before discussing more advanced cyberattacks in section 3.4 and historical cyberattack scenarios in section 3.5. Sections 3.2 to 3.4 should be reorganized, and the titles of subsections in section 3 need revision.

Thank you. We rearranged and improved the paragraphs in section 3.

The full names of ZDA (line 241), AES, and DES (line 305) should be provided, as well as the full names of SSE (static state estimation, line 382) and DSE (dynamic state estimation, line 385).

Thank you, all abbreviations are claimed before used.

Section 4.5, discussing smart grid testbeds, should be placed in a separate section (line 603). Citations are needed for tools like Real Time Digital Simulation (RTDS), DIgSILENT PowerFactory, Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT), and YALMIP toolbox (lines 605-611), and for testbeds mentioned in section 4.5.2.

Thank you. All relevant references are added.

Tables 2 to 5 are not referenced in the text, and their inclusion should be clarified.

 Thank you. All tables are referenced in the text.

Given these observations, I recommend a major revision of the manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper identifies research gaps, technical challenges, and suggests promising directions that industry and academia can explore to propose a reliable and secure smart grid framework against cyberattacks that could compromise or disable systems, taking into account both physical and network components.

However, I have several concerns.

1. The paper claims to identify research gaps and propose a framework for secure and resilient smart grids. Does the paper provide new insights or does it reiterate known concepts?

2. Please explain some English abbreviations, such as CAGR in the third line of Introduction.

3. Can the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed framework and solutions be assessed? Is there any data to support the evaluation?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

None

Author Response

The paper identifies research gaps, technical challenges, and suggests promising directions that industry and academia can explore to propose a reliable and secure smart grid framework against cyberattacks that could compromise or disable systems, taking into account both physical and network components. However, I have several concerns.

1. The paper claims to identify research gaps and propose a framework for secure and resilient smart grids. Does the paper provide new insights, or does it reiterate known concepts?

Thank you so much. Yes, this paper reviewed existing cyber-physical attacks, communication protocols, in terms of cyber security, and we also proposed a secure and resilient framework that consiers new security measurements, redundancy and resilience. We have improved Section 5, challenges in smart grid, in which new research trends and enabling techniques were addressed.

2. Please explain some English abbreviations, such as CAGR in the third line of Introduction.

Thank you. In the revised version we have carefully checked all abbreviations and full text for these abbreviations were provided.

3. Can the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed framework and solutions be assessed? Is there any data to support the evaluation?

Thank you. Yes, it is a very good question. In this review paper, we proposed a secure and resilient framework by considering cyber security measurements, redundancy and resilience, real-time monitoring, and situational awareness. We are working on a technical paper which focuses on quantitively resilience evaluation of the resilience of smart grid, we are happy to share the works if you need but for this survey paper, we focus on the framework and research gaps.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The researcher spoke about the many benefits of smart grids in the process of transitioning to more decentralized and carbon-free grids and about the energy system, its sources, securing and ensuring flexibility in the smart grid, as well as threats, physical attacks, and other potential disturbances. Moreover, a reliable and secure framework for smart grids against cyber attacks is proposed Which can disable or disable the system, taking into account the physical and electronic components.

Strong aspects. (The topic was explained in a clear way, the paper was presented in an easy way, and the results were clarified and emphasized)

weak aspects. (The Abstract could have been drafted in a way that demonstrates the value of the work)

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The researcher spoke about the many benefits of smart grids in the process of transitioning to more decentralized and carbon-free grids and about the energy system, its sources, securing and ensuring flexibility in the smart grid, as well as threats, physical attacks, and other potential disturbances. Moreover, a reliable and secure framework for smart grids against cyber attacks is proposed Which can disable or disable the system, taking into account the physical and electronic components.

 

Strong aspects. (The topic was explained in a clear way, the paper was presented in an easy way, and the results were clarified and emphasized)

 

weak aspects. (The Abstract could have been drafted in a way that demonstrates the value of the work)

Author Response

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The researcher spoke about the many benefits of smart grids in the process of transitioning to more decentralized and carbon-free grids and about the energy system, its sources, securing and ensuring flexibility in the smart grid, as well as threats, physical attacks, and other potential disturbances. Moreover, a reliable and secure framework for smart grids against cyber attacks is proposed Which can disable or disable the system, taking into account the physical and electronic components.

Strong aspects. (The topic was explained in a clear way, the paper was presented in an easy way, and the results were clarified and emphasized)

weak aspects. (The Abstract could have been drafted in a way that demonstrates the value of the work)

Thank you so much. Yes, we have carefully improved the abstract by highlighting the contribution of this works. We carefully revised the English presentation and all changes have been highlighted in ‘red’.

The improved abstract as:

“Smart grids are a cornerstone of the transition to a decentralized, low-carbon energy system, which offer significant benefits, including increased reliability, improved energy efficiency, and seamless integration of renewable energy sources. However, ensuring the security and resilience of smart grids is paramount. Cyber-attacks, physical disruptions, and other unforeseen threats pose a significant risk to the stability and functionality of the grid. This paper identifies research gaps and technical hurdles that hinder the development of robust and secure smart grid infrastructure. This paper addresses critical gaps in smart grid security research, outlining technical challenges and promising avenues for exploration by both industry and academia. A novel framework designed to enhance the reliability and security of smart grids was proposed against cyberattacks, considering the interconnectedness of physical and cyber components. The paper further explores future research trends and identifies key open issues in the ongoing effort to strengthen the security and resilience of smart grids.”

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The feedback on the previous version has been thoroughly addressed, and the issues have been resolved. After a minor revision (see details below), the manuscript is suitable for acceptance.

 

The format of the added references [92], [95], [96], [97], and [101] is incorrect. Hyperlinks should be provided if they reference a website. Otherwise, use a conference/journal paper or a report as the reference.

Author Response

Thank you so much. In the revised version, we have updated the format for reference [92], [95], [96], [97], and [101], for the online references, hyperlinks have been provided. We also improved the presentation.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

no issue after revision

Author Response

Thank you so much for your acknowledgement. In this revised version, we carefully gone through the presention and improved the English, references, and some format issues.