# Toward Secure Smart Grid Systems: Risks, Threats, Challenges, and Future Directions
## 2 Background and Preliminaries
### Mapping IoT Technologies  
The Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) [25] organizes a smart grid into five domains: DER, Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Customer Premises (see Table 4), as well as several interoperability layers, including the Component, Communication, Information, Function, and Business layers [26]. The Customer Premises and DER domains, where smart meters, home energy management systems, and local controllers are frequently installed, are where IoT technologies are primarily incorporated in this context. Lightweight  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Communication** & **Type/Technology** & **Description** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{Types} & \multirow{4}{*}{Home Area Network (HAN)} & Uses wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Bluetooth, Zigbee, 802.11) technologies to link household appliances to smart meters to detect energy usage and transmit the data to the server [22]. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Links Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), smart meters, and other distribution automation devices to WAN gateways, collectors, and field devices to gather user data and facilitate WAN-premise communication area [22]. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Employs fiber optics, 3G, LTE, WiMAX, or GSM to facilitate communication via HAN [23] between a smart meter, suppliers, and the utility server. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & A low-power, long-range wireless platform that supports energy management, smart grid infrastructure efficiency, and disaster prevention [24]. \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Power Line Communication (PLC)} & Uses existing power distribution infrastructure to transmit data signals over the power lines. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Used for data transmission in smart grids without physical connections. \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Fiber Optic Communication} & \multirow{2}{*}{Fiber Optic Communication} & FO cables provide high-speed data transmission for long-distance communication in smart grids, with high bandwidth, resilience to electromagnetic interference, and low latency. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Uses radio waves for data transmissions using short-range communication between devices within a localized area. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Offers high-speed data communication over existing power lines, improving communication between systems and smart grid devices. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Allows efficient and reliable communication within a localized area, forming a self-configuring and resilient network. \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Satellite Communication (SatComs)} & \multirow{2}{*}{Provides connectivity for data transmission, allowing smart grid devices in remote areas to communicate with the central grid management system.} \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Used in Local Area Networks (LANs) to provide high-speed and reliable data transmission over wired connections. \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Narrowband Communication} & \multirow{2}{*}{Uses narrow frequency bands for data transmission using low-power, low-data-rate applications.} \\ \cline{2-3}  & & \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 3: A set of possible communication types and technologies in smart grids.  
communication technologies, such as MQTT, CoAP, and Zigbee, are typically supported by these domains. The Transmission and Distribution domains [27], on the other hand, still largely rely on conventional SCADA systems and industrial communication standards, such as IEC 61850 [28], Modbus [29] and DNP3 [30], where flexibility is often subordinated to real-time performance and deterministic communication. This domain-specific perspective helps to steer the right technology selection and prevent overgeneralization by enabling a more accurate mapping of IoT applications in smart grids [31].