论文标题
智能网格中的网络安全:从业者的观点
Cybersecurity in the Smart Grid: Practitioners' Perspective
论文作者
论文摘要
智能电网(SG)是现代社会的基石,提供了维持数十亿人生和数千个行业所需的能量。不幸的是,作为我们世界上最关键的基础设施之一,SG是攻击者的有吸引力目标。数字化的采用越来越大,这一问题加剧了问题,这进一步增加了SG对网络威胁的影响。成功剥削这种暴露会导致整个国家瘫痪,这是一种不可接受的 - 但最终是不可避免的风险。 本文旨在通过阐明实际从业者对SG网络安全的观点来减轻这种风险。我们采访了18个实体,这些实体在欧洲的不同国家运营,并涵盖了SG的所有领域 - 从能源发电到其交付。我们的分析强调了(a)研究和实践之间的对比,也强调了(b)公共和私人实体之间。例如:某些威胁似乎比相关论文中声称的危险要少得多;一些技术范式对从业者具有可疑的效用,但由文学积极促进。最后,从业人员可能不足或过度估计自己的网络安全能力。我们得出四个收获,使未来的努力能够改善SG的整体网络安全。我们猜想,大多数问题是由于研究人员,从业者和监管机构之间的沟通不当,尽管有一个共同的目标,但倾向于忽略其他“球体”的观点。
The Smart Grid (SG) is a cornerstone of modern society, providing the energy required to sustain billions of lives and thousands of industries. Unfortunately, as one of the most critical infrastructures of our World, the SG is an attractive target for attackers. The problem is aggravated by the increasing adoption of digitalisation, which further increases the SG's exposure to cyberthreats. Successful exploitation of such exposure leads to entire countries being paralysed, which is an unacceptable -- but ultimately inescapable -- risk. This paper aims to mitigate this risk by elucidating the perspective of real practitioners on the cybersecurity of the SG. We interviewed 18 entities, operating in diverse countries in Europe and covering all domains of the SG -- from energy generation, to its delivery. Our analysis highlights a stark contrast between (a)research and practice, but also between (b) public and private entities. For instance: some threats appear to be much less dangerous than what is claimed in related papers; some technological paradigms have dubious utility for practitioners, but are actively promoted by literature; finally, practitioners may either under- or over-estimate their own cybersecurity capabilities. We derive four takeaways that enable future endeavours to improve the overall cybersecurity in the SG. We conjecture that most of the problems are due to an improper communication between researchers, practitioners and regulatory bodies -- which, despite sharing a common goal, tend to neglect the viewpoint of the other `spheres'.