Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) Cybersecurity Scenarios, Trends, and Potential Technologies: A Review
Suguranaj, N. and Balaji, S. R. A. and Subash Chandar, B. and Rajagopalan, P. and Kose, U. and Loper, D. C. and Mahfuz, T. and Chakraborty, P. and Ahmad, S. and Kim, T. and Apruzzese, G. and Dubey, A. and Strezoski, L. and Blakely, B. and Ghosh, S. and Bharata Reddy, M. J. and Padullaparti, H. V. and Ranganathan, P., IEEE Communications Surveys & TutorialsComputers & Security, 2025 Journal
Oneliner: A comprehensive and security-focused review on the broad domain of DERMS
Abstract. Critical infrastructures like the power grid are at risk from increasing cyber threats due to the growth of distributed energy resources (DER) relying heavily on internet connectivity. Compromised DER endpoints can cause damage, data breaches, communication loss, intentional device failures, and even cascading outages. To address these challenges, this paper explores cybersecurity issues in DER management systems (DERMS), including state-of-the-art reviews on architectures, communication protocols, access privileges, data breaches, false data injection, and network vulnerabilities. Realistic threat scenarios are outlined, followed by discussions on futuristic solutions like the zero trust framework. The paper presents new architectural patterns for recently released multi-level hierarchical framework as per IEEE 1547.3 standard to handle DERMS data/assets. It also discusses potential threats compromising the Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, and Accountability (CIAA) properties at each level of the IEEE 1547.3 framework. This review is unique and comprehensive, as it covers existing research on cybersecurity challenges in DER-related assets and outlines the necessary capabilities to equip Intrusion Diagnostic Units (IDUs) in future DERMS technologies, all while ensuring compliance with IEEE 1547.3 standard requirements.