Electrical grids have seen many technological advancements since they began providing power in the 1880s. With computer-controlled systems common among power grids all over the world, systems can deliver power more efficiently than ever before.
However, as power grids rely more heavily on computer-based systems, there also comes increased vulnerability to cyberattacks. A well-designed cyberattack can bring a city to its knees, shutting down the electricity that keeps modern cities bustling, such as when hackers shut down a part of Ukraine’s power grid that supplied more than 230,000 people in 2015.
To prevent such a destructive cyberattack from taking power grids offline, Mohammadamin Moradi, an electrical engineering doctoral student, used artificial intelligence to analyze the most damaging attacks and best defenses possible. His work was guided by two faculty members in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University: Ying-Cheng Lai a Regents Professor of electrical engineering and advisor for Moradi’s doctoral degree, and Yang Weng, an assistant professor of electrical engineering.
This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Israeli Ministry of Energy through the Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, or BIRD Foundation, to help both countries increase their cybersecurity defenses.