A new cybersecurity technology that relies on the unique digital fingerprint of individual semiconductor chips could be used to help protect the equipment of electrical utilities from malicious attacks that exploit software updates on devices controlling the critical infrastructure.
 

The GridTrust project, which researchers say has been successfully tested in a real substation of a U.S. municipal power system, combines the digital fingerprint with cryptographic technology to provide security for the utilities and other critical industrial systems that must update control device software or firmware. Led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in collaboration with the City of Marietta, Georgia the project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER).