Cybersecurity

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With recent cybersecurity breaches at large retailers, it’s easy to forget about the most basic and still threatening issue of physical security. That is why I am pleased to report the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC)…

Later this year, NIST expects to release a draft of the Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards (“Framework”) document for a formal 60-day public comment period and the final version of the document is planned for publication in the first half of 2014. However, those attending the SGIP Inaugural Meeting received an advanced…

Who knew? October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month! This year marks the 10th anniversary of the initiative sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Just in time to commemorate the milestone, this week, the U.S. Department…

On February 12, 2012, President Obama issued Executive Order 13636 calling for the development of a voluntary risk-based cybersecurity framework (“Framework”). The National Institute of Standards (“NIST”) is developing the Framework through an open process. Although it will serve as a uniform guide for developing cybersecurity programs, the Framework is expected to evolve with business…

Microgrids play an important role in the development of a smarter electric grid and present security and safety challenges which must be addressed. Ever wanted to attend the National Defense University? On June 18, 2013, the Department of Energy and the National Defense University will co-host the Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and…

Got plans for the summer? Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, the University of California at Davis and Washington State University are addressing the challenge of how to protect the nation’s power grid by improving the way the power grid infrastructure is built, making it more secure, reliable and…

For purposes of the Request for Information (“RFI”) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) defines “critical infrastructure” as:

systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public

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The smart grid creates the need for greater cybersecurity and is also part of the solution. The smart grid represents the modernization of electricity infrastructure often through added technology, allowing the grid to gather and store data and to create a “dialogue” between all components of the grid, and also allowing for automatic command and…

Cybersecurity threats challenge the reliability, resiliency and safety of the electric grid. As the smart grid develops and today’s electrical grid interconnects with distributed generation and less tangible information technology components such as networks, software and the internet, the need to address cybersecurity at utilities takes center stage. Enter NARUC. With funding from DOE…

Last week, officials from the Energy Department, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security met with senior leaders from across the electric sector to launch an initiative to better protect the nation’s electric grid. Over a dozen electric utilities and grid operators are expected to participate in the pilot program to test the…