Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Computer Science and Computer Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Farnell, Chris

Committee Member

Nelson, Alexander

Second Committee Member

Li, Qinghua

Abstract

As distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage systems become more common, securing their communications has become increasingly important. Many of these systems still rely on legacy communication protocols such as Modbus, which were not designed with cybersecurity in mind. This project addresses this challenge by developing a secure communication gateway that allows Modbus RTU devices to interface with decentralized Solid pods, which are personal data storage units that give users control over their information. This system is built on a Raspberry Pi 4, and it translates telemetry data from Modbus into a Solid-compatible format. This approach preserves the functionality of legacy equipment and additionally introduces modern privacy-preserving data ownership concepts into industrial energy telemetry. The work contributes to the broader effort to secure critical infrastructure, particularly in a crucial time of change in the larger energy landscape.

Keywords

cybersecurity; distributed energy resources; industrial control systems; protocol gateway; Solid

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