Adapted and lightly edited from: https://project-sparks.eu/overview/

The future smart grid represents a significant evolution in the way electric grids function. At the core of this change is an increased use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to implement enhanced monitoring and control in the distribution network at medium and low-voltage levels. Ensuring the cybersecurity and resilience of smart grids is of paramount importance. This is the target of the EU-funded SPARKS – Smart Grid Protection Against Cyber Attacks – project.

The project aims to provide innovative solutions in a number of ways, including approaches to risk assessment and reference architectures for secure smart grids. The project makes recommendations regarding the future direction of smart grid security standards. Furthermore, key smart grid technologies are investigated, such as the use of big data for security analytics in smart grids, and novel hardware-supported approaches for smart meter (gateway) authentication. All of these contributions and technologies are assessed from a societal and economic impact perspective and evaluated in real-world demonstrations.

Implementation of SPARKS results will reduce the attack surface of smart grid systems, detect cyber-attacks in real-time, and improve the resilience of smart grid infrastructure during an attack. Furthermore, SPARKS will provide a deeper understanding of the threats, vulnerabilities and economic consequences of cyber-attacks on smart grid infrastructure; raise awareness amongst industry leaders; present convincing information to stakeholders; and lead the debate on how to improve the cyber readiness of European network operators.