Electricity generation, distribution, supply and consumption is a major feature of modern economies and is undergoing very rapid change. Governments strive to reduce costs (to benefit the consumer) and to increase efficiency (to benefit the environment) by opening up parts of the formerly closed electricity system to new entrants. Disaggregation has increased competition, thereby putting downward pressure on prices, and has penalised market players having lower efficiencies. Meanwhile, the need to reduce carbon emissions encouraged the development of new Distributed Energy Resources, like solar and wind farms, increasing diversity of supply but also making control of the electricity network more challenging. Many supply companies incentivise their customers to introduce smart meters in their homes, by offering reduced tariffs in return for energy usage information. The resulting complex system is termed the smart grid.
The threats faced by the smart grid are many and varied, and new ones regularly come to light. Increasingly, Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors seek to undermine smart grids. A major challenge when hardening the smart grid is the need for stakeholders to cooperate to thwart attacks, while not harming either stability of supply or their own commercial interests. The physical infrastructure of the smart grid is vulnerable to sabotage, but the communications infrastructure is also vulnerable to more subtle attacks, and its economic and social value makes it a very tempting target for adversaries.
This PhD topic seeks to model the threats faced by the smart grid in an open economy like Ireland, and to look at how modern security practices can help to improve its security. We believe in the following principles:
- all interactions should require zero trust (assume the network has been breached already)
- all data should remain encrypted in flight and at rest (decryption increases the attack surface)
- privilege management should be strictly enforced (actions should be limited only to those permitted by the data owner, even when any data is passed on to third parties)
Some of these require new system models (which can be used to find where security weaknesses exist) and others require modern cryptographic techniques like zero knowledge proofs (e.g., for authentication), homomorphic encryption (e.g., for robust data processing) and distributed trust management that goes beyond key exchange. All of this needs to take account of the computing and networking resource limitations at the network edge, the need for self-management because of the challenge of maintaining large numbers of smart grid nodes and their operations, and ensuring low latency in support of timely delivery of the real-time security-, control- and data-related messages that underpin modern smart grids.
This project will investigate and develop new security system models, algorithms and mechanisms for the safe and reliable operation of smart grid. More specifically, it will use blockchain, modern cryptography and machine learning techniques for the provision and operation of data security in smart grid. The framework will be demonstrated in representative cyber attacks such as Persistent Stealthy Attack and Topology Attack to highlight the achievements, innovations, and impacts.
REQUIREMENTS
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:
- Applicants must hold a First Class honours degree or, at a minimum, a good 2.1 honours degree in a cognate discipline to the proposed research project;
- Applicants must demonstrate strong experience and skills in either quantitative or qualitative research (depending on the discipline);
- Applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in and knowledge of the broad research area of the PhD topic;
- Applicants must demonstrate a clear commitment to co-produced research;
- Clear organizational and communication skills;
- A high level of technical academic writing skills;
- Applicants who are currently registered at another Higher Education Institution cannot be offered a scholarship until they provide evidence that they have completed their studies at the other Institution.
DESIRABLE CRITERIA:
- Previous research experience in the area will be an advantage;
- Evidence of Publication and/or Dissemination activity will be an advantage;
- Experience in preparing funding applications (internal, IRC, SFI, HRB}, as the successful candidate, is required to apply in at least one funding cycle to the Irish Research Council under an appropriate programme (e.g. Government of Ireland Postgraduate Programme);
- Experience in research or professional work within the research discipline area.
Supervisors: Dr Lei Shi, Dr Bernard Butler
For any informal queries relating to the project, please contact Dr Lei Shi on [Email Address Removed]
For other general queries relating to the scholarship, please contact Dr Brian Jackson, Head of Postgraduate Studies on [Email Address Removed]
Please note that individual projects may have additional desirable criteria requirements, therefore all candidates are strongly advised to have an initial pre-application discussion (by e-mail or via Teams/Zoom) with members of the supervisory team who will advise of additional requirements for specific projects. Candidates who progress to the second round of the application process will be advised of specific project and interview requirements at that stage.
Benefits
- Scholarship: €16,000 p.a.
- Tuition Fees
- Research Expenses: €2,000 p.a.
- Duration: Full Time, 48 months PhD
- Funding: South East Regional Development Fund Scholarship (SERD)
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
Applicants whose first language is not English, MUST submit evidence of competency in English (a minimum of IELTS 6.0) See https://www.itcarlow.ie/international/non-eu-students/admissions/English-language-requirements.htm
In line with international best practice, scholarship recipients will be required to undertake two hours of academic development activities per week during academic terms.
How to Apply
E-mail completed application to [Email Address Removed] with the Project Title and Reference number in the Subject field.
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