![]() ![]() These standards, guidelines and exercises have significantly improved the security of the larger elements of the power system, such as power plants and high-voltage transmission networks. A draft version of a new set of guidelines was just released, adding both urgency and detail for utility companies. National Institute of Standards and Technology has its own recommendations, though they are not mandatory for utilities. NERC also hosts regular tabletop simulation exercises, where electricity companies can practice defending against major attacks. This includes monitoring the grid for attacks, as well as requiring safeguards such as multi-factor user authentication to keep unauthorized intruders from accessing control networks. and Canada, has rules, known as Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) compliance, for how electric companies must protect the power grid both physically and electronically. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which oversees the grid in the U.S. Security standards can help ensure utility companies keep their protection strong. Similarly, power substations that are crucial for converting electricity from high-voltage transmission lines to lower voltage for household use, are increasingly controlled via internet-enabled networks and software. Over time, though, older traditional electricity meters have given way to digital smart meters. Increasingly computerized: electricity transmission lines. It’s difficult because the grid has to continue to operate in real time, making adjustments to ensure the right amount of electricity gets where it needs to go at every moment.Īnd it’s especially hard because the electricity industry is used to a slower pace of technological advance: While computer technologies like smartphones and servers are updated every two to three years, grid infrastructure typically must operate for over a decade. ![]() Protecting the American electricity grid from cyberattacks is challenging not just because it is made up of so many physical and computerized elements connecting nearly every building in the country. How can we prevent this sort of attack in the U.S.? In both cases, it is widely reported that hackers aligned with the Russian government were responsible. That attack also cut off electricity service, though to a much smaller geographic area, and for only about an hour. The attackers were able to open dozens of circuit breakers and shut off power to more than 200,000 customers for several hours.Ī year later, the country’s electricity transmission facilities were attacked. 23, 2015, a cyberattack penetrated electricity distribution control centers in Ukraine using software vulnerabilities, stolen credentials and sophisticated malware. But as a new document from the National Institute of Standards and Technology suggests, we are just beginning to determine how best to protect it against cyberattacks. It happened in Ukraine in 2015 and again in 2016, and it could happen here in the U.S., too.Īs researchers of grid security, we know the grid has long been designed to withstand random problems, such as equipment failures and trees falling on lines, as well as naturally occurring extreme events including storms and hurricanes. But now we know cyberattacks can penetrate electricity grid control networks, shutting down power to large numbers of people. But its computerized control could be abused by attackers who get into the systems. As the grid has become more dependent on computers and data-sharing, it has become more responsive to changes in power demand and better at integrating new sources of energy. Today, we are just beginning to understand the seriousness of an emerging threat to the grid’s cybersecurity. The grid has been vulnerable physically for decades. That’s a lot of power, and many possible vulnerabilities. This web of generators, substations and power lines is organized into three major interconnections, operated by 66 balancing authorities and 3,000 different utilities. Today, it is made up of more than 7,000 power plants, 55,000 substations, 160,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and millions of miles of low-voltage distribution lines. electricity grid is a complex digital and physical system crucial to life and commerce in this country. Called the “ largest interconnected machine,” the U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |