Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Best-Practices-Based Training for Improving Cybersecurity in Power Grids

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Computer Security. ESORICS 2024 International Workshops (ESORICS 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 15264))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 578 Accesses

  • 1 Citation

Abstract

The increased financial value of the power grids and the multitude of potential attackers, including such with advanced capabilities, makes the enhancement of cybersecurity in power grids very important. In order to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of the power grids, it is necessary to foster the development of cybersecurity skills and knowledge of the personnel working in them. To this end, this work proposes a systematic process that leverages cybersecurity best practices to define training content for personnel employed in power grids. To illustrate the workings of the proposed approach, best practices against phishing, spoofing, denial of service, and unauthorized activities are presented.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from €37.37 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Norway)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 69.54
Price includes VAT (Norway)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR 81.99
Price excludes VAT (Norway)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://electron-project.eu/.

References

  1. Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., Lassila, O.: The semantic web. Sci. Am. 284(5), 34–43 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Protecting your organization against denial of service attacks - itsap.80.100. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cell, N.J.C..C.I.: The cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  4. Center for Internet Security: Guide to DDoS attacks, multi-state information sharing and analysis center (MS-ISAC). Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  5. Center for Internet Security: CIS critical security controls version 8. https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/v8_pre (2022). Accessed 19 Jun 2023

  6. Chowdhury, N., Gkioulos, V.: Cyber security training for critical infrastructure protection: a literature review. Comput. Sci. Rev. 40, 100361 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chowdhury, N., Gkioulos, V.: Key competencies for critical infrastructure cyber-security: a systematic literature review. Info. Comput. Secur. 29(5), 697–723 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chowdhury, N., Katsikas, S., Gkioulos, V.: Modeling effective cybersecurity training frameworks: a Delphi method-based study. Comput. Secur. 113, 102551 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Chowdhury, N., Nystad, E., Reegård, K., Gkioulos, V.: Cybersecurity training in Norwegian critical infrastructure companies (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  10. CISCO: best practices Guide for Anti-Spoofing. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/security/email-security-appliance/214844-best-practices-guide-for-anti-spoofing.html

  11. Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, F.M.I.: Understanding and responding to distributed denial-of-service attacks. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  12. Cybersecurity, C.I.: Framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity. https://nvlpubsnist.gov/nistpubs/CSWP/NIST. CSWP 4162018 (2018)

  13. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency: capacity enhancement guide counter-phishing recommendations for federal agencies . https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Capacity_Enhancement_Guide-Counter-Phishing_Recommendations_for_Federal_Agencies_1_0.pdf

  14. Davis, J.: Ransomware, phishing attacks compromised half us orgs in 2019. Ed. By Healthysecurity. com.[Online (2020)]

    Google Scholar 

  15. DOE, U.: 21 steps to improve cyber security of SCADA networks (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  16. El Sawi, G.: Curriculum development guide: population education for non-formal education programs of out-of-school rural youth (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  17. ENISA: Distributed denial of service, ENISA threat landscape. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  18. ENISA: DNS DDoS Attack Protections. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/info-notes/dns-ddos-attack-protections

  19. ENISA: Enisa’s ten security awareness good practices. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  20. ENISA: From january 2019 to april 2020 phishing enisa threat landscape. https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/cyber-threats/threats-and-trends/etl-review-folder/etl2020-phishing , year = 2020

  21. ENISA: It business continuity management, an approach for small medium sized organizations. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  22. ENISA: online training material . https://www.enisa.europa.eu/topics/training-and-exercises/trainings-for-cybersecurity-specialists/online-training-material

  23. ENISA: Preventing identity theft: Train the trainer reference guide. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  24. ENISA: Technical Guidelines for the implementation of minimum security measures for Digital Service Providers

    Google Scholar 

  25. ENISA: Review of cyber hygiene practices. Tech. rep. (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  26. ENISA: Cybersecurity skills development in the EU (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Ghafir, I., Prenosil, V., Svoboda, J., Hammoudeh, M.: A survey on network security monitoring systems. In: 2016 IEEE 4th International Conference on Future Internet of Things and Cloud Workshops (FiCloudW), pp. 77–82. IEEE (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Grammatikis, P.R., et al.: SDN-based resilient smart grid: the SDN-microsense architecture. Digital 1(4), 173–187 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Gwen El Sawi: overview of the curriculum development process. https://www.fao.org/3/ah650e/AH650E03.htm

  30. ICC Belgium, FEB, EY, Microsoft, L-SEC, B-CCENTRE and ISACA Belgium: 40 essential measures for a healthy network (2013). https://www.ssi.gouv.fr/en/actualite/40-essential-measures-for-a-healthy-network/

  31. ICC Belgium, FEB, EY, Microsoft, L-SEC, B-CCENTRE and ISACA Belgium: Belgian cyber security guide (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  32. International Electrotechnical Commission- IEC: Functional safety - safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector, IEC 61511. IEC 61511, 152 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  33. International Electrotechnical Commission- IEC: Industrial-process measurement control and automation, framework for functional safety and security. IEC 63069:2019, p. 152 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  34. International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ISO/IEC 27001:2013 information technology — security techniques — information security management systems — requirements (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  35. IRM: Amateyrs attack technology. professional hackers target people. Website article (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Jackson, C.: Iterating on quality: the tel curriculum development process. https://www.tel-education.org/iterating-on-quality-the-tel-curriculum-development-process/, year = 2021

  37. Khelifa, B., Abla, S.: Security concerns in smart grids: threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures. In: 2015 3rd International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference (IRSEC), pp. 1–6. IEEE (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Kim, H.S.: Outcomes-based curriculum development and student evaluation in nursing education. J. Korean Acad. Nurs. 42(7), 917–927 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Koshutanski, H.: The role of SIEM in addressing the cyber-security challenges of modern EPES (2022). https://electron-project.eu/blog/the-role-of-siem-in-addressing-the-cyber-security-challenges-of-modern-epes/

  40. Lekidis, A.: Cyber-security measures for protecting EPES systems in the 5G area. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security, pp. 1–10 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Luallen, M.E., Labruyere, J.P.: Developing a critical infrastructure and control systems cybersecurity curriculum. In: 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 1782–1791. IEEE (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Mattioli, R., Levy-Bencheton, C.: Methodologies for the identification of critical information infrastructure assets and services. ENISA Report (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Ministeries, N.: National cyber security strategy for Norway (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  44. NIST: NIST special publication NIST SP 800-63-4 IPD digital identity guidelines. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  45. Obrst, L., Chase, P., Markeloff, R.: Developing an ontology of the cyber security domain. In: STIDS, pp. 49–56 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Oman, P., Schweitzer, E., Roberts, J.: Safeguarding IEDS, substations, and SCADA systems against electronic intrusions. In: Proceedings of the 2001 Western Power Delivery Automation Conference, vol. 1, pp. 86–96 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Pasias, A., Kotsiopoulos, T., Lazaridis, G., Drosou, A., Tzovaras, D., Sarigiannidis, P.: Enabling cyber-attack mitigation techniques in a software defined network. In: 2021 IEEE International Conference on Cyber Security and Resilience (CSR), pp. 497–502. IEEE (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Procopiou, A., Komninos, N.: Current and future threats framework in smart grid domain. In: 2015 IEEE International Conference on Cyber Technology in Automation, Control, and Intelligent Systems (CYBER), pp. 1852–1857. IEEE (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Regjeringen: list of measures - National Cyber Security Strategy for Norway. https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c57a0733652f47688294934ffd93fc53/list-of-measures--national-cyber-security-strategy-for-norway.pdf

  50. Sarkar, S., Teo, Y.M., Chang, E.C.: A cybersecurity assessment framework for virtual operational technology in power system automation. Simul. Model. Pract. Theory 117, 102453 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Sriram, K., Montgomery, D.: Resilient interdomain traffic exchange, NIST special publication 800 (2019): 189. Tech. rep

    Google Scholar 

  52. Stouffer, Keith, J.F., Scarfone, K.: Guide to industrial control systems (ICS) security. NIST special publication 800.82 (2011): 16-16. Tech. rep. (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Stouffer, K., Lightman, S., Pillitteri, V., Abrams, M., Hahn, A.: NIST special publication 800-82, revision 2: guide to industrial control systems (ICS) security. National Institute of Standards and Technology (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  54. Sun, C.C., Hahn, A., Liu, C.C.: Cyber security of a power grid: state-of-the-art. Int. J. Electr. Power Energy Syst. 99, 45–56 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. The National Cyber Security Centre: email security and anti-spoofing. https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/email-security-and-anti-spoofing

  56. The National Cyber Security Centre: Phishing attacks: defending your organization How to defend your organisation from email phishing attacks. https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing

  57. Tsoumanis, G., Tsarchopoulos, P., Ioannidis, D.: D11. 12: Cyber data security management plans

    Google Scholar 

  58. Valliou, M., et al.: Strategy for cybersecurity education in smart grids. Intellectual Output 2, Erasmus+ Project Cybersecurity Curricula Recommendations for Smart Grids (CC-RSG) (2022). available online: https://www.uwasa.fi/sites/default/files/2022-04/Strategy20for%20cybersecurity%20education%20in%20smart%20grids%20CCRSG%20project.pdf

  59. Wang, W., Lu, Z.: Cyber security in the smart grid: survey and challenges. Comput. Netw. 57(5), 1344–1371 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Weerathunga, P.E., Cioraca, A.: The importance of testing smart grid ieds against security vulnerabilities. In: 2016 69th Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers (CPRE), pp. 1–21. IEEE (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  61. Wen, S.F., Yamin, M.M., Katt, B.: Ontology-based scenario modeling for cyber security exercise. In: 2021 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS &PW), pp. 249–258. IEEE (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  62. Zeng, K., Li, Z.: Best practices in cybersecurity for utilities: Secure remote access (2020)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101021936 (ELECTRON).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Security and Communication Technology (IIK), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Gjøvik, Norway

    Georgios Kavallieratos, Ahmed Amro, Vasileios Gkioulos & Sokratis Katsikas

  2. TÜV Austria Romania, 139B Calea Plevnei, 060011, Bucharest, Romania

    Grigore Stamatescu

  3. Department of Automation and Industrial Informatics, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, 060042, Bucharest, Romania

    Grigore Stamatescu

  4. Department of Informatics, Democritus University of Thrace, 65404, Kavala, Greece

    Kostantinos Rantos & Thomas Lagkas

  5. School of Science, Department of Computer Science, Kavala Campus, International Hellenic University, 65404, Kavala, Greece

    Konstantinos Demertzis

  6. Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE), Athens, Greece

    Fotis Paterakis

  7. Innovation Hub of Public Power Corporation S.A., Attica, Greece

    Alexios Lekidis & Christos Dalamagkas

  8. Durham University, Durham, UK

    Igor Kotsiuba

Authors
  1. Georgios Kavallieratos
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ahmed Amro
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vasileios Gkioulos
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Grigore Stamatescu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kostantinos Rantos
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Thomas Lagkas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Konstantinos Demertzis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Fotis Paterakis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Alexios Lekidis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Christos Dalamagkas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Igor Kotsiuba
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Sokratis Katsikas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georgios Kavallieratos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France

    Joaquin Garcia-Alfaro

  2. Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK

    Harsha Kalutarage

  3. Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    Naoto Yanai

  4. Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Rafał Kozik

  5. Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland

    Paweł Ksieniewicz

  6. Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland

    Michał Woźniak

  7. Norwegian Computing Center, Oslo, Norway

    Habtamu Abie

  8. University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Silvio Ranise

  9. University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Luca Verderame

  10. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Genoa, Italy

    Enrico Cambiaso

  11. SINTEF, Oslo, Norway

    Rita Ugarelli

  12. GECAD/ISEP, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Praça

  13. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Gjøvik, Norway

    Basel Katt

  14. Norwegian Computing Center, Oslo, Norway

    Sandeep Pirbhulal

  15. Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Halden, Norway

    Ankur Shukla

  16. Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Marek Pawlicki

  17. Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Michał Choraś

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Kavallieratos, G. et al. (2025). Best-Practices-Based Training for Improving Cybersecurity in Power Grids. In: Garcia-Alfaro, J., et al. Computer Security. ESORICS 2024 International Workshops. ESORICS 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15264. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82362-6_21

Download citation

Keywords

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Profiles

  1. Georgios Kavallieratos View author profile
  2. Thomas Lagkas View author profile
  3. Alexios Lekidis View author profile
  4. Christos Dalamagkas View author profile