From old to new: Assessing cybersecurity risks for an evolving smart grid

Future smart grids will consist of legacy systems and new ICT components, which are used to support increased monitoring and control capabilities in the low- and medium-voltage grids. In this article, we present a cybersecurity risk assessment method, which involves two interrelated streams of analyses that can be used to determine the risks associated with an architectural concept of a smart grid that includes both legacy systems and novel ICT concepts. To ensure the validity of the recommendations that stem from the risk assessment with respect to national regulatory and deployment norms, the analysis is based on a consolidated national smart grid reference architecture. We have applied the method in a national smart grid security project that includes a number of key smart grid stakeholders, resulting in security recommendations that are based on a sound understanding of cybersecurity risks.