Security in smart grids

Over the last few years the great advance in technology, the need for greener and more sustainable power sources and energy laws promoted by the governments allowed the Smart Grid trend to become a reality. Due the heterogeneous nature of the new electrical grids that integrate very diverse power sources, such as renewable energies, and due to the large amount of sensors and actuators that enable advanced functionalities of the Smart Grid, there is a need for a highly flexible, scalable and easy-to-manage Internet-like network. Moreover, new services are offered to users, which are exposed to new vulnerabilities and threats, requiring novel security and high-availability mechanisms to guarantee the best quality of service.