Magazine | Issue 1 2025 You need to take a holistic approach if you want to provide substations with effective protection against cyber-attacks. Cybersecure protection relay test sets are an essential element that should be featured in every security concept. Find out why this is and discover the extensive measures we’ve implemented to establish a new cybersecurity standard for protection testing. A cyber-attack on critical infrastructure isn’t just something that happens in books – and plenty of real cases exist to prove it. The most well-known incident occurred in Ukraine in 2016, when attackers exploited the connection to a control center. Since then, the necessity of protecting critical infrastructure has been stipulated through various legal requirements. For example, the NIS2 Directive (network and information security) lays out the framework for improving cybersecurity in the EU. A comprehensive threat analysis covering as many attack vectors and vulnerabilities as possible, forms the basis for hardening substations. As shown in a study by the Ponemon Institute, known vulnerabilities were exploited in 100% of the attacks they examined. Eliminating all vulnerabilities poses a real challenge for utilities, as there are many attack vectors, such as: › The connection to the control center and remote maintenance channels › Station and maintenance computers › The firmware and settings files for the protection devices themselves › Test sets used in the substations While the awareness of cyber threats has grown, a closer look makes it clear that there’s a lack of more specific solutions. In terms of protection testing, the protection relay test set and the test laptop represent attack vectors that can be exploited. A secure test set has the advantage of addressing both of these attack paths. Until now, If protection is inadequate, there are several ways for attackers to gain access to the station bus of critical intrastructures. OT network Protection device Protection test set Gateway Control center Station/maintenance computers Protection device IED settings Testing PC Test documents 13
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