Modular Security Apparatus for Managing Distributed Cryptography for Command-and-Control Messages on Operational Technology Networks (Module-OT)

Abstract

Modern energy systems are characterized by a shift toward diverse and distributed technologies-a blend of new and legacy energy resources interconnected by data and control networks. Increased interconnectivity improves communications and flexibility on the electric power system, but its effect on cybersecurity can pose challenges. More connections can create more options for cyberattacks, and many cybersecurity standards for devices are either outdated, unenforced, or simply nonexistent for some legacy devices. Such circumstances can leave energy systems unprotected, and a successful cyberattack on even one device-e.g., a photovoltaic (PV) inverter, electric vehicle charger, or an energy storage device-could potentially propagate to other connection points across a utility's network. As the electric power industry continues to adapt standards to include modern cybersecurity practices, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response awarded funding to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) to develop a solution that protects distributed energy resources (DERs) and to advance the state of the art for modern cybersecurity. The project partners include the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Yaskawa Solectria Solar (Solectria).This report describes a demonstrated solution to improve the overall cybersecurity posture of legacy and future DER systems without disrupting the existing infrastructure. The goal of the research was to develop a novel and cost-effective technology securing distributed communications across utility-owned DER systems. To achieve this, our approach was to design a flexible and lightweight cryptographic module for grid-edge devices focusing on end-to-end encryption. This provides integrity to the command-and-control messages in transit to and from DERs mitigating cyber threats, such as man-in-the-middle, and securing DER communications to the electric grid.The Modular Security Apparatus for Managing Distributed Cryptography for Command-and-Control Messages on Operational Technology Networks (Module-OT) (Hupp et al. 2020) improves the cybersecurity posture of DER systems in a holistic way by providing authentication, authorization, and data integrity to secure DER communications. Additionally, it performs key management, provides data security through whitelisting Internet Protocol addresses and ports, blocks unauthorized connections, controls user access, and allows serial or Ethernet connections for added flexibility. The core software is portable to various Linux-based operating systems and is developed to be customized by the developer and researcher communities. Module-OT is open source and available via GitHub to encourage active development and deployment.The development of Module-OT involved a comprehensive survey of existing cybersecurity and interoperability standards as well as a stakeholder workshop. Industry feedback came from a mix of utilities and technology vendors in addit...