Cybersecurity in smart grids: threats, vulnerabilities and protection mechanisms
Keywords:
smart grid, cybersecurity, cyber-physical attacks, intrusion detection, resilienceAbstract
Introduction: Smart grids expand observability and automation by connecting cyber and physical components, but this connectivity also creates attack surfaces capable of affecting data integrity, availability and operational continuity. Objective: To systematically analyze literature published from 2018 to 2022 on threats, vulnerabilities and protection mechanisms in smart grids, emphasizing intrusion detection, mitigation, resilience and data security. Method: A systematic review was organized through identification, duplicate removal, title and abstract screening, full-text eligibility assessment and final inclusion. Studies were retained when they met the temporal window, addressed smart-grid cybersecurity directly, provided a DOI and contained sufficient methodological or technical detail. The final corpus comprised 24 studies. Results: The evidence concentrates on false-data injection, cyber-physical attacks, communication and SCADA vulnerabilities, intrusion detection and resilience mechanisms. Machine-learning approaches are increasingly visible, although their reported performance is difficult to compare because datasets, attack scenarios, metrics and validation conditions vary substantially. Standards and security architectures provide complementary preventive perspectives, but implementation remains uneven. Conclusions: Smart-grid cybersecurity requires layered protection combining prevention, detection, response and recovery rather than isolated controls. The literature supports stronger benchmark datasets, transparent validation, cross-layer threat models and security mechanisms evaluated under realistic grid conditions. The review further identifies the need for coordinated security governance across cyber-physical layers.
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25. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
26. Not applicable. This study is a review of published literature and did not involve direct participation of human beings, animals, interventions, or collection of identifiable personal data.
27. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) USE STATEMENT
28. The authors declare that the generative artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used exclusively to support the organization of the article and translation of text. Its use did not determine the scientific content, study design, source selection, data analysis, interpretation of results, or conclusions. Full responsibility for the content remains with the authors.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Alberto Ricardo Delgado Revilla
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