A mechanism for detecting data manipulation attacks on PMU data

The fundamental role of the measurement and control information in the normal operation of smart grids makes cyber-security a critical necessity for existing and future power systems. This paper addresses the problem of detecting data manipulation attacks on smart grids, in the particular context of the data from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs). The proposed methodology is based on comparing the estimates of the transmission line parameters as obtained from the PMU data with their known values. Data modification attacks are then detected when a statistically significant deviation is observed in the estimated and nominal values. In this proof-of-concept, work-in-progress paper, we verify the proposed detection methodology using mathematical analysis.