BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED PRIVACY-PRESERVING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FRAMEWORK FOR SMART GRID CYBERSECURITY

Abstract

The increasing digitalization of smart grids has significantly improved the efficiency, reliability, and sustainability of modern power systems. However, the integration of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing, has introduced new cybersecurity vulnerabilities that threaten critical energy infrastructure. This study presents a blockchain-enabled privacy-preserving Artificial intelligence framework designed to enhance cybersecurity in smart grid environments, with a particular focus on Northeast Nigeria as a case study. The framework integrates blockchain technology, federated learning, differential privacy, edge computing, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven intrusion detection into a unified architecture to provide secure, intelligent, and privacy-aware protection for smart grid systems. The proposed framework was developed using the design science research methodology and evaluated through simulation and comparative performance analysis. The framework achieved excellent detection performance with an accuracy of 96.8%, precision of 95.9%, recall of 96.4%, and F1-score of 96.1%, significantly outperforming conventional centralized AI and blockchain-only approaches. The integration of federated learning and differential privacy effectively protected consumer information with a privacy leakage rate of only 2.7% while maintaining high model utility of 94.8%. The blockchain performance evaluation showed a transaction latency of 184.6 Ms, a throughput of 421.3 transactions per second, and efficient smart contract execution. The suitability of the framework for practical deployment with moderate resource requirements by computational assessment. The findings demonstrate that combining blockchain, privacy-preserving learning, and AI provides a comprehensive, scalable, and resilient cybersecurity solution for SGIs. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on smart grid cybersecurity and offers practical insights for utility providers, researchers, and policymakers seeking to strengthen the security and resilience of emerging smart grid systems, particularly in developing regions with infrastructural challenges.