Survey of Load-Altering Attacks Against Power Grids: Attack Impact, Detection, and Mitigation

Abstract

The growing penetration of IoT devices in power grids despite its benefits, raises cybersecurity concerns. In particular, load-altering attacks (LAAs) targeting high-wattage IoT-controllable load devices pose serious risks to grid stability and disrupt electricity markets. This paper provides a comprehensive review of LAAs, highlighting the threat model, analyzing their impact on transmission and distribution networks, and the electricity market dynamics. We also review the detection and localization schemes for LAAs that employ either model-based or data-driven approaches, with some hybrid methods combining the strengths of both. Additionally, mitigation techniques are examined, focusing on both preventive measures, designed to thwart attack execution, and reactive methods, which aim to optimize responses to ongoing attacks. We look into the application of each study and highlight potential streams for future research.