Security and Privacy Issues of Distributed, Complex P2P Smart Grid Marketplace Systems

The development of distributed, complex systems has influenced the design of modern infrastructure. These systems, characterized by networked structures, diverse functionalities, and inherent complexity, drive innovation across various sectors.
The energy sector, which is transitioning from conventional power grids to smart grids, demonstrates this paradigm shift. Driven by the need for sustainability, increased system resilience, and rising global energy demand, smart grids embody the distributed systems approach, integrating decentralized energy resources, real-time energy trading, and advanced communication technologies has created a dynamic and complex energy landscape. This transformation presents new challenges in security, privacy, and scalability.

In this thesis, we focus on a key component of smart grids: marketplaces. We address these challenges to security, privacy, and scalability by proposing novel models and architectures for application to P2P marketplaces. This thesis proposes a decentralized P2P architecture for energy trading, tackling security and privacy concerns inherent in smart grids and P2P marketplaces. Leveraging the cryptographic properties of distributed ledger technology (DLT), the model ensures transaction integrity and non-repudiation. Additionally, the integration of off-chain state channels further enhances privacy and scalability. We extend on that proposal by conducting a study on off-chain processing, developing a model that balances scalability and security improvements in smart grids while reducing security costs. Our test-driven development and security analysis proves the feasibility of the protocol. Finally, we address privacy risks within marketplaces by researching privacy-preserving techniques for identity verification and reputation-building systems and conclude our research objectives by giving future research directions.