New contests for PHDays VI: we break hydroelectric power station and smart home

The PHDays forum has always been famous for its competitive program. What did they not break into in six years: an electrical substation , mobile communication , a remote banking system . Hackers knocked out rocket launchers , stole money from an ATM , derailed trains .

Most of the competition will be based on CityF infrastructure and merged into this year's main competition, PHDays VI CityF: Opposition. Forum contests, as always, have practical value. Participants will hack the process control system, the Internet of things, Internet banks, GSM and network equipment. Details can be found on the forum page, and today we will talk about two new tests in the context of hacking automatic control systems - BMS & Smart House Attack and Critical Infrastructure Attack: Blackout.
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Among other objects, the stand of the electric power company (distribution and trunk substations, hydroelectric power station, central and regional dispatch points) and the smart home will be developed at the PHDays VI ityF test site. Participants will learn the security of real systems. Objects can be hacked as a simple visitor to the forum, and members of the CityF teams.

Critical Infrastructure Attack: Blackout

The task of hackers is to attack the model of the power supply system of a small region. The model is close to reality both technically and functionally. It is divided into separate parts: the generation, transmission, distribution and management of electricity. Participants are invited to disrupt the normal operation of the overall power system.
In terms of distribution, hackers will be able to influence the city’s substation with a voltage class of 10 kV, which distributes electricity to the city’s infrastructure (residential buildings, industrial enterprises). For additional details, a model of a house with many life support systems will be connected.

Having attacked part of the transmission, it will be possible to seize the main substation (500 kV), which, in the event of a violation of its operation, will allow the attacking teams to arrange not only local blackout, but also disrupt the normal operation of the general electric power system or “turn off” the city.

In terms of generation, teams will be able to influence the hydroelectric power station. This will either turn off the transmission of electricity from the station, or affect the operation of the automation of the hydraulic units and the control system of the station, for example, turn on the emergency spillway and flood the city near the station.

Attacking teams can also get access to the monitoring of all systems, as well as to the control of a power area, gaining access to the regional dispatch and power control center and to the central control room.
The winner of the competition will get an Apple tablet. Winner of the second place - Raspberry Pi 2 Ki.

BMS & Smart House Attack

At the disposal of hackers, life support systems will be provided, ranging from central electricity distribution systems to the outlet in the house.

The stand is a hybrid of building automation systems and “smart home”, among them lighting system, water meters, elevator, ventilation and apartment-office automation. The task of hackers is to gain control over individual systems or disable them, provided that some of them are additionally protected. The task is complicated by the fact that the energy supply at home is directly dependent on the work of the distribution substation of the city, which also needs to be hacked.

Winners of the competition will receive gifts from our partners Advantech and ProSoft, who provided most of the layout and automation systems.