Hardware-Based Intrusion Detection in E-LAN based Distributed DC Microgrid: A Virtual Sensor Approach

Emerging microgrids are distinguished by their ability to make automatic decisions with the data available from the Internet of Things (IoT) based sensor devices application in control and monitoring purposes. However, the hardware used in the electric grid is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attack which leads not only to financial loss but also affect the operation of microgrids. In this article, a virtual sensor placement approach is proposed to continuously monitor and detect the malicious activities that may occur at a hardware level of the dc microgrid system. Hence, a state observer-based method is developed across the selected dc-converters which not only detects the malicious activity but also consumes less computational burden. This proposed method is simple in implementation, efficient in operation and can be maintained by a single supervisory control system. The proposed method is implemented in real-time hardware using the LabView test bench by considering the three dc systems connected in a ring manner communicated via the E-LAN network.