The gradual convergence of information and communication infrastructure with the electricity network represents an additional threat to the security and privacy. The number of connections and dependencies which may be an entry point for intentional attacks grows with the complexity of energy network and may also cause unpredictable failures related to software or hardware errors. Higher penetration of smarter devices opens new opportunities to spread malware like viruses or worms. Another type of threat is unauthorized access to detailed data describing consumer behaviour collected by the service provider.
Extensive cascading network failure from 14th August 2003 in the USA and Canada (Northeast Blackout) demonstrated that cyber security is not related only to protection against intentional attacks, but must also include resilience of infrastructure to user errors, equipment failures and natural disasters. On the other hand, availability of the new
technologies in the energy market opens an opportunity to improve monitoring and management process with positive impact on the overall system stability.
In the following text, we will primarily focus on the cyber-security related to this area.