Smart Grid Security, Digital Power and Power Supplies

Powerbox has announced that Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Patrick Le Fèvre will present a paper on the subject of 'smart grid security' at the Applied Power Electronics Conferences (APEC). Involved from the very early days with projects to add communication and intelligence to power supplies – which became known as "Digital Power" – Patrick Le Fèvre has frequently been asked about software security and how prepared the power supplies industry is to address such issues.

“Because of the complexity and the variety of devices connected to the smart grid, power supply manufacturers will have to consider the security aspects when their products are integrated within a smart grid,” Le Fèvre commented when asked about the importance of the concepts he will present.

Although there is very little risk of a hacker reaching a single digital-POL at board level, the security risk increases exponentially as we move upward in the value chain, and in doing so the smart grid is probably the highest and the most exposed to attacks.

In February 2016, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an alert, reporting a case that had happened in December 2015 in Ukraine, raising the information to a high level of attention by smart grid operators, motivating them to accelerate protection mechanisms and to develop preventative actions policies.

Le Fèvre observed, “The Ukrainian incident has triggered the alarm for all of us involved in developing power systems connected to the smart grid. It is a signal that we should never forget about the final application and to be smart security innovators to power the smart grid with excellence.”

In his presentation, Patrick Le Fèvre will go through the history of the smart grid and talk about different cases that illustrate the growing threat, as well as explaining initiatives that will make the grid better protected against attacks. Step by step, the worldwide smart grid is getting stronger and safer, although the potential for threats remains high. Le Fèvre’s presentation will take place on Thursday 30th of March, Industry Session 20 ‘Energy Management – Smart Micro-grid’.