Privacy-enhanced network topology for cyber-secure distributed secondary control in AC microgrids

Distributed control systems in AC microgrids face significant security challenges, particularly from active and passive cyberattacks. While previous researches have typically addressed privacy and resilience against these attack types separately within microgrid control layers, this paper proposes an integrated security-by-design approach to enhance privacy and resilience in distributed control of AC microgrids. The proposed approach is based on a dynamic communication network topology design that addresses multiple security concerns simultaneously, including privacy enhancement and resilience against active attacks. By dynamically altering the communication network topology, the proposed method conceals source and destination IP addresses, significantly complicating eavesdropping attempts. Furthermore, the dynamic topology also enhances resilience against active denial of service attacks, which impact data availability in the distributed secondary control layer. Simulation results verify the efficacy of the proposed approach in the distributed secondary control of AC microgrids.