Real-Time Performance and Security of IEC 61850 Process Bus Communications

Modern power-network communications are based on the IEC 61850 series standards. In this paper, we investigate the real-time performance and the vulnerabilities and attack scenarios at the sensor level communication networks more precisely on Sampled Measured Value protocol. The approach jointly evaluates the communication protocol, network topology and impact on electrical protection functions. We test the practical feasibility of the attacks on an experimental workbench using real devices in a hardware-in-the-loop setup. The tests are conducted on the two high-availability automation networks currently used in IEC 61850 process bus communications: Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) and High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR)