Stress testing power systems' systemic resilience against cyber-attacks

Simulation-based stress tests are a well-known tool in the banking sector for assessing the resilience of the financial system and its entities, and it has recently been discussed to transfer the concept to the cyber-security domain of other critical infrastructures. This work proposes a novel stress testing framework to quantify the systemic resilience of power systems against cyber-attacks, considering both entity- and system-level risks. An exemplary realization of the framework that focuses on cyber-attacks using internet-connected distributed energy resources is provided. This realization includes two ready-to-use simulation approaches for quantifying cyber-attacks' potential impact on inter-area-oscillations and voltage-band violations, as well as assessing the effectiveness of possible power system-based defence measures. Additionally, the regulatory integration of the proposed stress-testing framework into European and German regulations is discussed. Overall, the proposed stress test aims to raise awareness in the community and help regulatory authorities determine suitable cyber and physical defence measures, balancing the costs with the estimated risk reduction.