Emission Based Monitoring for Cyber Threat Detection of DER Systems

The United States is seeing a growing trend of increasing power management needs with the growing use of the electric grid across the states. A typical power management system that can be locally operated or commercially operated are Distributed Energy Resources which work across solar panel systems, wind turbines, combined heat and power systems, energy storages, and micro-hydro systems. With the growing reliance on Distributed Energy Resource there is a concern and need for protecting these systems from cyber threats and malicious hackers. One method to address the cyber security need of Distributed Energy Resources is to utilize methods of in-situ monitoring. An innovative method for in-situ monitoring is to utilize the unintended radio frequency emissions that all electronics emit to detect changes in programing and operation state of unit controllers. With rapid in-situ detection of cyber threat immediate action and security protocols can be enacted for the protection of the power distribution center and its customers. Under the Phase I effort feasibility will be demonstrated to show the power and accuracy of radio frequency emissions to detect cyber-threats on power management systems and controllers. The normal operation of an electronic system changes as a cyber-threat acts on the system and drives resources and power away from intended sources. These changes to the system are directly reflected in the emitted radio frequencies of the electronic controller system. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Future commercial applications of the developed capability would benefit the energy distribution market on both large and small scales of Distributed Energy Resources systems. Additional benefits include ensuring the energy security of the United States for efficient energy use and distribution. Other benefits include providing an additional layer of security to those small scale systems used at times of war and recovery times in third world countries, there the security of power goes hand in hand with the security od soldiers and field doctors alike.