Quantum-Resistant Authentication for Smart Grid: The Case for Using Merkle Trees

Introduction

Today our modern world is not so far removed from a “simpler time” when rapid transportation was by horse, water was hauled by hand and refrigeration was a sort of science fiction. Some of us will never forget the stories told by our elders of the first time they witnessed the magic of electricity. Since those times technology has advanced quickly. Presently, as a result of political turmoil, cyber-attacks and natural disasters we see how important electric power has become to our modern societies. Electricity keeps transportation systems moving in an orderly manner. It keeps water flowing. It keeps medicines and food refrigerated. In short electric power is now fundamental to our world.

The electrical power grid forms the functional foundation of our modern societies. Born in the Victorian Era the grid has served humanity well, but as our societies continue to evolve, demands are increasing, and requirements are being put on the grid that were not there a hundred years ago. In short, this infrastructure is hitting a limit and needs to be modernized. It is expected that by 2050 worldwide consumption of electricity will triple (Kowalenko, 2010). Furthermore, power grids are still susceptible to large-scale outages that can affect millions of people (U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force, 2004). These are some of the motivations for the creation of an “advanced decentralized, digital, infrastructure with two-way capabilities for communicating information, controlling equipment and distributing energy” (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 2010). This infrastructure will be better able to incorporate new forms of energy generation, as well as be self-healing and more robust. Each device in a smart grid will likely have its own IP address and will use protocols like TCP/IP for communication. Thus, they will be vulnerable to similar security threats that face present day communication networks (Yan, Qian, Sharif, Tipper, 2012); however, the stakes will be much higher. That is to say, in the information technology industry the highest priority is the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. In the electrical power industry, the highest priority is human safety. For the smart grid cyber security measures must not get in the way of safe and reliable power system operations (NIST, 2010).