Analysis of Causes and Actual Events on Electric Power Infrastructure Impacted by Cyber Attack

Hongxu Yin¹, Rui Xiao², Fenfei Lv¹

¹The Power Company of Dezhou, Shandong, Dezhou, China.
²College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China.

DOI: 10.4236/jpee.2015.34012                

Abstract

With the development of electric power technology, information technology and military technology, the impact of cyber attack on electric power infrastructure has increasingly become a hot spot issue which calls both domestic and foreign attention. First, main reasons of the impact on power infrastructure caused by cyber attack are analyzed from the following two aspects: 1) The dependence of electric power infrastructure on information infrastructure makes cyber attack issues in information field likely to affect electric power field. 2) As regards to the potential threat sources, it will be considerably profitable to launch cyber attacks on electric power infrastructure. On this basis, this paper gives a classified elaboration on the characteristics and the possibilities of cyber attacks on electrical infrastructures. Finally, the recently published actual events of cyber attacks in respect of threat sources, vulnerabilities and assaulting modes are analyzed and summarized.

Keywords

Cyber Attack, Electric Power Infrastructure, Information Infrastructure, Dependence

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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