RSSI-based spoofing detection in smart grid IEEE 802.11 home area networks

The smart grid concept has compelled researchers to investigate cybersecurity approaches for infrastructure stability. Wireless mediums represent the backbone of communications in the smart grid especially for Home Area Networks (HAN). Increased connectivity brings about an inheritance of vulnerabilities associated with wireless networks. In particular, spoofing attacks poses an immediate threat to Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA). In this study, an intrusion detection system (IDS) algorithm is proposed in which received signal strength indicator (RSSI) is analyzed by means of cosine similarity and data sectoring to detect spoofing attacks in smart grid 802.11 HANs. The detection accuracies are recorded at different spoofing distances and threshold levels.