Protection of the U.S. power grid from cyberattacks was the motivation behind development of the Constrained Cyber Communication Device (C3D) by U.S. Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
C3D is based on advanced communication capabilities to autonomously review and filter commands being sent to relay devices. Featuring intelligent and automatic filtering technology, C3D can be wired into a protective relay’s communication network to monitor and block cyberattacks before utility relay operations are affected.
After developers constructed a 36 ft mobile substation, the system was tested in INL’s full-scale power grid test bed by sending a sudden power spike command to the substation relays and monitored the effects from a nearby command center. The C3D device instantly blocked the command and automatically prevented the attack from damaging the larger grid.
Following additional testing of the technology and associated software, C3D will be available for licensing to private industry.
