How Monitoring Lightning Strikes Can Help Detect Power Grid Cyber Attacks
I was floored when I read a recent article describing how scientists could potentially use data from lightning strikes to detect cyber attacks on the grid. The scientists are with the Georgia Institute of Technology, and funding for their research is being provided by the National Science Foundation. The scientists even have a patent pending on their methodology. My first thought was, how on Earth could this be possible?
How Lightning Strikes Relate to Cyber Attacks
First, you need to know that our planet receives a whopping 3.5 million lightning strikes every day. Whenever a strike occurs, a low frequency radio signal is emitted, which can be detected anywhere across the globe. Although these signals only last for about a millisecond, the technology already exists to detect and analyze them.
The radio signals from lighting strikes can be compared to the radio signals emitted by substations (these are called “side signals”). The same equipment can detect both types of signals. Side signals can be analyzed to determine what is happening with the utilities’ SCADA systems. System hacking can be detected by combining and comparing both types of signals – specifically, the system can analyze the magnetic field around a substation to detect an anomaly caused by a hack.
The system is called a radio frequency-based distributed intrusion detection system (RFDIDS), and it consists of software as well as hardware (the receiver). The patent pending is specifically for this system and how it can be used to validate electric grid activity.
The best part of this invention is that it does not require a large investment by utility companies. The only thing utilities would need to do is attach an antenna on their substations, which would detect both types of signals and transmit the data to the receiver which is owned and operated by a third party.
The bottom line is that cybersecurity is one of the most critical aspects of emergency preparedness in our industry, and if leveraging data from lightning strikes can improve hacking detection, I’m all for it!
