The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded two researchers from Carnegie Mellon University with a $400,000 grant to study the use of blockchain to improve grid security.
Rahul Panat is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and has expertise in high-temperature sensor networks, which are similar to those that provide information to the Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system power plants use to make decisions such as how much power to generate and where to send it.
Vipul Goyal is an associate professor in the Computer Science Department and has experience in blockchain technologies.
“SCADA is a huge center point for attack,” Goyal said. “But if the data from the sensors is placed on a blockchain, then the attacker does not have to attack a single computer, but multiple computers – maybe tens or hundreds of computers depending on how large the blockchain is.”
The researchers will create a simulated SCADA system and integrate it onto an eight-node blockchain, a number chosen only for the experiment. Panat noted that the blockchain could scale quickly and affordably.
“A simple laptop computer – just $200 or $300 – can be a node on this blockchain,” Panat said. “You don’t need a fancy workstation or supercomputer to do this.”
Goyal and Panat’s technology would be private and would only be available to a few authorized employees within an organization.
“This hierarchical access control will protect against insider threats in addition to outsiders trying to attack the grid,” Goyal said.
The researchers are aiming to complete the project by the end of summer 2021. They will then provide a prototype of their eight-node blockchain system to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), a national lab under the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy.
“If this project was sponsored by one single power generation company, then the solution might remain right there,” Panat said. “By working with a national lab like NETL, it can be a benefit to the entire nation.”