Shulou(Shulou.com)05/31 Report--

In the digital age, the speed and scale of data transmission are growing rapidly, which raises concerns about privacy and security. This information management giant poses a great challenge to energy utilities that need to safely exchange and store data while improving the speed, reliability and efficiency of power supply.

In the largest grid project of its kind in blockchain, PNNL is working with Guardtime, Washington State University, Avista, various industry suppliers of industrial control and energy transmission systems, the U.S. Energy and Defense Department, and more than a dozen companies. Industry consultants tested and demonstrated the ability of blockchain to improve network security flexibility of power infrastructure.

In March, the team demonstrated two first use cases of the project. The first use case focuses on protecting critical data stored and exchanged between energy management systems or distribution management systems and energy transmission systems. The second use case shows how blockchain can help improve asset management and supply chain security in critical energy supply systems.

These use cases are important because energy companies are committed to protecting more and more terminals from changing network threats while managing the rapid expansion of distributed energy and other smart devices. These preliminary pilots show that blockchain shows the potential to help protect these transactions while improving the resilience of the grid by providing new security solutions to manage and protect critical energy transmission systems and data.

Since its debut about a decade ago, this highly respected blockchain technology is still in its formative stage and is often misunderstood. Through verification and verification opportunities and hype, this blockchain project helps to improve the security of the State Grid and other critical infrastructure.

"think about the early stages of the Internet," said Michael Millia, the project's lead researcher and senior adviser on network security and resilience at PNNL. "although blockchain technology is still in its infancy and lacks browser-level ease of use, these preliminary pilots suggest that blockchain could lead to a new wave of innovation to help ensure complex energy exchanges."

Block chain primer

Blockchain software provides a digital ledger that uses encrypted signatures to record valuable transactions. Transactions are saved in a continuous list of records, called blocks, with built-in tamper protection.

Each block contains a timestamp and an encrypted link to the previous block. Because the data that forms the block cannot be changed retroactively, the chain is difficult to modify.

Although blockchain technology is usually associated with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the technologies that support it vary greatly in terms of features, definitions, and applications. In fact, an article in the New York Times last spring pointed out that the unstable cryptocurrency market has proved that blockchain technology lacks regulation and standards, which continues to distract the true potential of the technology. In other words, the application of DLT can increase the credibility and auditability of data, thus eliminating the need for third parties in everything from energy to finance.

In August, the Economist linked blockchain directly to the energy industry by directly contacting consumers and energy producers, and dispersed the possibility of energy deals. Since blockchain-based transactions can be conducted without intermediaries, this "professional consumer" approach can improve today's inefficient multi-tier systems, where intermediaries trade at all levels.

Energy utilities are also aware of the potential for blockchain change. However, they remain cautious because of lingering problems related to the interoperability, security, and scalability of the technology.

Better, stronger, more efficient

The critical Infrastructure Security system (KISS) project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by PNNL, focuses on:

Develop network security controllers that support blockchain and use PNNL's VOLTTRON platform to perform complex energy exchanges that cannot be modified or manipulated by cyber attacks

Develop the first blockchain prototype to continuously monitor and independently verify the integrity of critical energy delivery systems

Validate and identify the opportunities and challenges of applying blockchain technology to mitigate network threats in the operation, configuration and supply chain of energy transmission systems.

The recent blockchain pilot is an important milestone that helps to increase new understanding of blockchain in the field of energy. These findings help to fill several major gaps in blockchain research to determine the technical requirements for scalability, interoperability, and security.

"instead of assuming that blockchain is a panacea for all grid challenges, we have delved into more than a dozen different blockchain technologies and carefully studied the feasibility of their application in the energy sector," Mylrea said.

These research results pave the way for the application of the block chain solution developed in the project to the future research of real-time power grid telemetry.

"how can we break the blockchain? can we rebuild it in a more flexible and easy-to-use way? how can blockchain make the grid more efficient and flexible to respond to changing cyber threats?" Future research will help answer these types of questions, Mylrea said.

PNNL's pilot project provides valuable insight into the opportunities and challenges of the blockchain and provides greater clarity for technologies that lack standards, regulations, and definitions. In other words, not all blockchain applications are the same.

Some blockchain solutions are energy-intensive and are often vulnerable to different network attacks. Public and private blockchains and applications, configurations and implementations vary widely in terms of cost, latency, interoperability and applicability to ensure the security of critical energy infrastructure. PNNL focuses on solving these problems and how to improve the credibility and integrity of blockchain energy applications.

In 2019, the team hopes to begin commercializing network security controllers that support blockchain and move from field testing to utility-level deployment. They will also explore with industry and the public

Use business collaboration opportunities to improve the speed, security and interoperability of complex energy transactions.

Higher than radar

An ambitious project is certain, but the idea of breaking the blockchain and rebuilding it stronger has attracted a lot of attention. Green Technology Media and other sites reported on the launch, progress and pilot results of the project, which is the hallmark of this year's largest global cyber security conference, RSA.

The project also provides assistance to lawmakers and regulators. PNNL's Paul Skare testified at a U.S. Senate committee hearing in August about the energy efficiency of blockchain and similar technologies, and confirmed it again to lawmakers in Washington State in March. Skare is the Network Security and Energy and Environmental Technology Group Manager for PNNL. His testimony included comments on the KISS blockchain project.

"our research is helping the energy sector go beyond the buzzing of blockchain, validating and validating the potential of blockchain for a more resilient and efficient modern grid," Mylrea said.

The game is over.

It is too early to call the blockchain a panacea for critical infrastructure network resilience. The changing definition of blockchain poses governance challenges for regulators and decision makers.

To increase clarity and help drive widespread industry adoption, Mylrea and his colleague Sri Nikhil Gourisetti lead the IEEE Block chain Standards Committee and the working Group's Network Security working Group. The goal of the group is to develop standards and frameworks for the application of the technology in the energy sector.

But the world is not waiting. Startups and established companies around the world are expanding the western part of blockchain application development. In fact, Sri Nikhil Gourisetti points out that many Fortune 500 companies are exploring various blockchain applications for their businesses.

PNNL's work on blockchain leverages its core competencies and domain expertise in grid network security to support the Department of Energy's Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security and Emergency response (CESER) Energy sector Cyber Security multi-year plan. Specifically, this work is in line with the U.S. Department of Energy's goal of accelerating game-changing research, the development and demonstration of elastic energy transfer systems (RD&D), and their ability to survive cyber attacks while maintaining critical functions.

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