Distributed Computing Defends Power Grids From Cyberattacks
May 22, 2014
A team of researchers from around the U.S. is working to protect the U.S. power grid from cyberattacks and address other power grid security concerns as part of the SmartAmerica Challenge, which kicked off in late 2013 to highlight U.S. research in the field of cyberphysical systems.
The power grid is complicated, divided up into sections that cover everything from a single municipal area (like New York City) to large regions (like the entire state of California). But each of those sections is controlled by a single control center, which monitors the behavior of its piece of the grid to make sure things are operating normally, and makes whatever adjustments are necessary to keep the system running smoothly.