# Toward Secure Smart Grid Systems: Risks, Threats, Challenges, and Future Directions
## 2 Background and Preliminaries
### Smart Grid Communications  
Smart grids use different communication types to ensure efficient and reliable data exchange [16] and fulfill security requirements [17]. In addition, smart grids utilize various technologies to connect home appliances with smart meters, enabling the identification of power consumption and the transmission of details to the server for calculations and billing [18]. Also, smart grids use two-way communications to maintain connectivity between their different components, including digital technologies, advanced sensing meters, and critical infrastructure [19] to offer improved, secure, and safe optimization and operationality of all of its components, including generation, transmission, distribution, and stakeholders [20,21]. Table 3 presents a set of possible communication types and technologies that can be employed in smart grids. In the next section, the main limitations of smart grids are presented and discussed, including both security-related and non-security-related challenges.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Enhancement** & **Description** \\ \hline Enhanced Reliability & Utilizes modern monitoring and control systems to accurately detect and respond to disruptions, effectively identifying and isolating faults with minimal delays. \\ \hline More Energy Efficiency & Enhances energy distribution management through real-time monitoring and analysis of energy consumption, enabling demand response programs and integration of renewable energy sources. \\ \hline Efficient Renewable Energy Integration & Monitors and manages energy resource distribution to avoid waste and adopt an eco-friendly approach, enhancing renewable energy forecasting and improving energy supply and demand management. \\ \hline Improved Grid Planning & Utilizes advanced sensors and data analysis tools to optimize grid planning and maintenance, enhancing resiliency, flexibility, and efficiency at a reduced cost. \\ \hline Enhanced Safety and Security & Strengthens resilience against cyber and physical attacks, enabling rapid power restoration and improved grid resilience through self-healing and fault detection capabilities. \\ \hline Enhanced EV Integration & Integrates EVs and provides charging infrastructure and smart charging management. \\ \hline Modernized Technologies & Upgrades smart grid infrastructure with new capacitors, programmable logical controllers, transformers, transmission lines, substations, and equipment, improving planning, implementation, and design. \\ \hline Real-Time Detection and Isolation & Monitors grid conditions, faults, and outages in real time, quickly isolating them to enable fast power restoration. Relies on IoT devices and sensors for data collection. \\ \hline Improved Network Performance & Monitors network traffic in real time to detect and mitigate cyber–physical threats, optimizing network operations and performance securely. \\ \hline Improved Energy Distribution & Relies on micro-grids and virtual power plants to provide a reliable energy supply independently of the primary grid, utilizing DERs to act as a single, coordinated energy source. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: _Cont._