Type:

Bachelor Thesis Business Information Systems

Status:

in process

Abstract

Motivation

IT security is considered as a pivotal issue for the electricity sector, considering rapidly evolving technological developments such as micro grids (Mengelkamp et al, 2018)), and the use of internet technologies for systems that were previously operating within an isolated network (this especially concerns earlier generation SCADA systems (Pliatsios et al, 2020)).

To analyze IT security concerns, already different modeling methods exist, like (Goldstein & Frank, 2016). However, while containing valuable insights, these methods are not tailored to the specificities of the electricity sector. On the other hand, there exists a well established reference model for smart grid cyber security (NIST Smart Grid Cybersecurity Panel, 2010), but it is in turn insufficiently amenable to model based analysis.

Objective

The objective of this Bachelor thesis is to work towards a modeling method in support of IT security in the electricity sector. As an outcome, for a selected focal area (it is expected that the electricity sector at large is too comprehensive), you present a list of requirements towards a modeling method, sketch a first version, and outline potential application scenarios.

Einstiegsliteratur:

Goldstein, A., Frank, U. Components of a multi-perspective modeling method for designing and managing IT security systems. Inf Syst E-Bus Manage 14, 101–140 (2016). doi.org/10.1007/s10257-015-0276-5

NIST Smart Grid Cybersecurity Panel: NISTIR 7628-guidelines for smart grid cyber security vol. 1-3 (2010)

Neureiter, C., Engel, D., Uslar, M.: Domain speci?c and model based systems engineering in the smart grid as prerequesite for security by design. Electronics 5(2) (2016) 24

Mengelkamp, E., Gärttner, J., Rock, K., Kessler, S., Orsini, L., & Weinhardt, C. (2018). Designing microgrid energy markets: A case study: The Brooklyn Microgrid. Applied Energy, 210, 870-880.

Pliatsios, D., Sarigiannidis, P., Lagkas, T., & Sarigiannidis, A. G. (2020). A survey on SCADA systems: Secure protocols, incidents, threats and tactics. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 22(3), 1942-1976.