Abstract

Smart grid communication networks face escalating cybersecurity threats that compromise data integrity, authentication, and privacy across distributed energy systems. This paper presents a novel blockchain-based security framework designed to enhance the cybersecurity posture of smart grid communication infrastructure. The proposed Decentralized Smart Grid Security Protocol (DSGSP) integrates consortium blockchain architecture with advanced cryptographic mechanisms to ensure secure data transmission, device authentication, and tamper-resistant transaction logging. Our framework incorporates smart contracts for automated security policy enforcement and implements a proof-of-authority consensus mechanism optimized for real-time energy grid operations. Experimental evaluation using NS-3 network simulator demonstrates significant improvements in security metrics with 97.8% attack detection accuracy, 15ms average transaction confirmation time, and 99.2% data integrity preservation under various cyber-attack scenarios. The framework successfully mitigates common smart grid vulnerabilities including man-in-the-middle attacks, data manipulation, and unauthorized device access while maintaining operational efficiency.