Using Physics to Keep Our Electrical Grid Safe
Many of the systems that provide services or products we use daily, such as the electrical grid, oil and gas pipelines, vehicles, and manufacturing plants, are examples of cyberphysical systems – systems that integrate computing and networking with one or more physical components.
Berkeley Lab researcher Sean Peisert (Credit: Marilyn Chung/Berkeley Lab) Computer security specialist Sean Peisert and a team of researchers at Berkeley Lab are helping ensure that these systems stay secure from cyberattacks. The team has collaborated with utilities and utility equipment companies on numerous projects to use the physical components of electrical grids – and the laws of physics they are subject to – to keep cyberattacks at bay.