DIRECTORY
without the need for dispersion or nonlinearity compensation methods. Much work remains to be done, however, in translating this theoretical idea into practice.
Spatially Coupled Algebraically Decodable Codes for High-Speed Data Transmission Optical fibres support very high-speed communication channels (hundreds of Gbits/s per wavelength) and designing error-control coding schemes that can correct channel errors at such high speeds is a daunting task. This research investigates one promising family of codes, so-called spatially coupled algebraically decodable codes, for such applications. This family includes “staircase codes,” a hardware-friendly class of codes with excellent code performance. Our ongoing research is investigating methods to incorporate soft-decision information and to combine coding with higher-order modulation.
Kundur, Deepa WWW.COMM.UTORONTO.CA/~DKUNDUR/RESEARCH Cyber-Physical Protection of the Smart Grid The emerging smart grid represents an engineering system with tightly coupled and coordinated cyber and physical components. The close interaction of such diverse components may lead to emergent system behaviours and new forms of vulnerabilities. However, opportunities may also exist through the coupling to improve system survivability in the face of faults and attack. This research program pioneers the development of a modelling and analysis methodology for cyber-physical smart-grid systems by harnessing the power of dynamical systems frameworks. Through integration of mathematical tools from the fields of nonlinear dynamical systems, graph theory and game theory, we aim to address timely and important system operation, control and security problems influenced by the needs of electric power utilities. The work will provide timely design insights and instruments essential for developing more reliable, secure and survivable smart grids. Solutions for resilient smart-grid development and operation are just emerging and the proposed research provides a necessary framework to better assess, redevelop and prioritize them. Moreover, this research helps to reinforce the synergy among communication, computation, economic and electricity networks, fostering an important interdisciplinary view of the emerging smart-grid. The ability to build resilient smart-grid systems will provide commercial and environmental benefits by facilitating widespread adoption of smart-grid infrastructure, revolutionizing the electricity marketplace and reducing our society’s ecological footprint.
C yber Security Enhancement for Smart Grids Using an IT/OT Convergence Approach The December 2015 cyber attack against Ukraine’s power grid revealed the developing capacity of energy infrastructure attackers to manipulate and to spread their actions across a variety of systems in both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) domains, such as business networks and supervisory control and
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data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Traditional security approaches relying on siloed IT security, OT security and physical security programs have become increasingly unable to deter such advanced cyber attacks. Moreover, despite ensuring conformity to different security standards and regulations, traditional security approaches potentially run the risk of becoming inefficient against evasive and dynamic threats that can bypass classic solutions. Hence, a new approach is needed in order to bridge the security gaps resulting from the divergence of IT and OT in energy infrastructures. This divergence stems from disparate technical realities (such as different evolution pace, lifecycles, and drivers) and organizational aspects (dictated, for instance, by the fact that IT and OT teams are often associated with different administrative entities and follow different regulations). As a result, no collaborative security approaches have been tailored to solve cyber security incidents by jointly involving IT, OT and physical security teams. The main objective of this project resides in developing a new converged security approach that not only leads to more collaborative solutions but also to more advanced ones using a broader variety of defences and network management tools.
A Real-Time Federated Co-simulator for Cyber Security Analysis of Microgrid Systems Effective modeling and simulation of complex power system disturbances, especially those stemming from intentional cyber attack, represents an open engineering research and development problem with recent national focus. The Northeast Blackout of 2003 and the December 2013 largescale power outage in the Greater Toronto Area clearly demonstrate the fragility of the Canadian grid to incidental and natural disruptions; given the increasing dependency of power systems on communications and computation, intentional cyber attack would thus have potential for great devastation. Simulators are a cost-effective and safer alternative to conducting experiments with prototype or real systems. They can also be executed faster than in real time for efficient what-if analysis. Thus, tools for modelling and simulation of smart-grid systems are of paramount importance to power system stakeholders for judicious planning and preparedness for contingencies. Challenges stem from the need to develop intelligent models of cyber-physical interdependencies within emerging smart-grid systems, the facility to portray realistic and meaningful cyber attacks, and the ability to balance precision, scale and complexity. This three-way collaborative Engage Plus project builds upon an existing Engage-based collaboration amongst Professor Deepa Kundur, University of Toronto; the Institut de recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ); and Opal-RT Technologies, Inc. to develop a cyber-physical co-simulator platform for the purpose of studying the impacts of cyber attacks on emerging microgrid systems. The results of the project will benefit microgrid and cyber-security projects within IREQ by providing a framework to test communication and control strategies. Furthermore, the real-time software integration insights arising from the research will be transferred to Opal-RT to equip them with knowledge to better support their existing and future clients.