Security of Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection, and Control (WAMPAC) Systems of the Smart Grid: A Survey on Challenges and Opportunities

The evolution of power generation systems, along with their related increase in complexity, led to the critical necessity of Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection, and Control (WAMPAC) systems in today’s smart grid. Recent developments in smart measurement devices coupled with data communication technologies allow for significant improvements in power systems’ reliability, efficiency, and security. These technological advancements make WAMPAC systems of significant practical interest. However, the geographically distributed nature of such systems increases the potential attack surface and the risk of critical vulnerabilities. Thus, it is of paramount importance to identify the related threats and vulnerabilities as well as the prominent solutions relevant to WAMPAC systems. Consequently, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of WAMPAC security aspects along with the state-of-the-art research initiatives addressing such aspects. Specifically, this paper provides critical taxonomies of the cyber-security scope of WAMPAC that guide the accompanying survey of the recent studies on the WAMPAC security domain. As such, this article aims to pave the way for prospective researchers to pursue further studies in areas that require in-depth investigation into the security, reliability, and efficiency of WAMPAC as the backbone of smart grids.