In today’s digital world, keeping our power grids safe from cyber threats is more crucial than ever. Researchers at the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering have taken a big step forward with an advanced AI-based security system. You might be wondering why this matters. Well, imagine millions of people suddenly left without power. That’s not just inconvenient—it’s a serious risk to safety and security.
Despite past efforts to beef up defenses, cybercriminals are always finding new ways to sneak in. Prasad Calyam, a Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, pointed out that many grid operators are still relying on outdated defenses like firewalls and antivirus software. “What we really need,” he says, “is a cybersecurity framework that can predict and detect attacks in real-time and actively defend against them.”
Leading a team at the Mizzou Cyber Education, Research and Infrastructure (CERI) Center, Calyam zeroed in on inverter-based resources (IBRs). These systems are key to connecting renewable energy sources to the grid, but their internet connectivity makes them vulnerable to attacks. “IBRs have multiple layers—network, communication, and hardware—that can all be targeted,” Calyam explained.
Enter the new system, known as CIBR-Fort. It uses cutting-edge tech like large language models (LLMs) and knowledge graphs to spot unusual activities and potential threats quickly. With an accuracy of 91.88% in predicting cyberattacks, CIBR-Fort is designed to adapt by learning from new attack types.
Roshan Lal Neupane, a cyberinfrastructure engineer at CERI, shared that this system is cloud-based and can respond to threats in real-time, with an average response time of just 40 milliseconds per data flow. That’s incredibly fast! CIBR-Fort doesn’t just detect threats; it actively defends against them by redirecting attack traffic, deploying decoys, and analyzing attacker behavior to neutralize threats.
Vamsi Pusapati, a graduate student in computer science at Mizzou, added, “Interactive systems can trick attackers by responding to their actions—like opening files that seem real—wasting their time and effort.” This evolving system promises scalable security solutions for future power grids. The team is excited to present their findings at the 2025 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/International Federation for Information Processing Network Operations and Management Symposium.
