Blockchain Secured Network Unit Controllers for Power Grid Resilience
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional network distribution systems are vulnerable to failures and tampering due to their centralized nature, as seen in the 2015 Ukrainian power grid cyberattack, which compromises operational security and resilience.
Innovation Solution
A method for load allocation and monitoring in a network that uses blockchain technology to securely distribute network unit control methods and parameter data sets among decentralized network units, ensuring cryptographically protected transmission and proper functioning, thereby enhancing network automation and resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a centralized control system is used for network distribution, then the system can be managed and monitored centrally, but the system becomes vulnerable to attacks and failures that compromise operational security
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized control functions into distributed network unit controllers, each capable of autonomous operation. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure in centralized systems while maintaining management capabilities through a distributed architecture where controllers can operate independently or in coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces blockchain technology as an intermediary layer that enables secure peer-to-peer communication and coordination between distributed controllers without requiring a central authority. This intermediary provides trustless verification and prevents tampering while maintaining system-wide coherence.
2Productivity
If control methods and parameter data are transmitted in plaintext, then transmission is simple and fast, but the data can be read and tampered with compromising security
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by implementing cryptographic protection (encryption and digital signatures) on control methods and parameter data before transmission. This pre-protection measures prevent reading and tampering attacks without significantly impacting transmission speed, as the cryptographic operations are performed beforehand.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the state of transmitted data from plaintext to encrypted form, changing the parameter of data readability. This parameter change ensures that even if data is intercepted, it cannot be read or tampered with without the appropriate cryptographic keys, maintaining security while allowing fast transmission of the encrypted form.
3Reliability
If network units operate independently without coordination, then each unit is resilient to failures, but the overall network lacks coherence and centralized management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes each network unit controller multi-functional, capable of both autonomous local control and participation in distributed network-wide coordination. This universality allows units to maintain resilience through independent operation while contributing to overall network coherence through shared blockchain-based coordination mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where network unit controllers continuously monitor their own state and the state of other units through the blockchain, and adjust their operations accordingly. This distributed feedback loop maintains network coherence without requiring centralized control, as each unit responds to system-wide conditions while maintaining local autonomy.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices and method are disclosed for a load allocation and monitoring for a resource to be allocated in a network, where the resource to be allocated is a critical resource in terms of supply security for a population group and/or a system, and the critical resource comprises electric power, where the network is subdivided into network units, and each network unit has a network unit controller. In some examples, the method includes storing network unit control methods, network unit parameter data sets, and subnetwork monitoring methods in at least one blockchain; allocating a subnetwork monitoring unit to one part of the network; and transmitting a network unit control method and a network unit parameter data set to each network unit controller of the part of the network, and the transmitting of the network unit control methods and the network unit parameter data sets is cryptographically secured against reading and tampering with the network unit control methods and the network unit parameter data sets in such a manner that the corresponding reading and tampering are precluded to the greatest extent possible and occurs in such a manner that the proper functioning of each network unit controller of the part of the network is ensured; and monitoring the proper function of each network unit controller of the part of the network by means of the subnetwork monitoring unit using a corresponding subnetwork monitoring method.