Data integrity attack and its impacts on voltage control loop in power grid

A modern power system consists of several control and monitoring loops, both automated and manually operated, to ensure that the system remains within safe operating bounds at all times. The focus of this paper is on data integrity attacks on messages exchanged between the control center and actuators in the voltage control loop. Devices such as the ones belonging to the FACTS family (STATCOM, SVC, TCR, etc.), are connected to the system at designated points for voltage control purposes. An attacker could cause a detrimental impact on the system by performing an attack on the control messages sent to these devices which would manipulate its settings. The aim of this paper is to highlight the impact of an attack targeted at such voltage control deices in the system. This paper presents a template that might be used by an attacker with knowledge of system functionality. The paper also explains the sensitivity analysis technique which will help the attacker identify the device to be compromised. A successful attack would result in abnormal voltage conditions in the system, thus violating NERC reliability standards.