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The DOE on the Longest Road to U.S. Infrastructure Security

You could almost make the argument that Bill Bryan has built his entire career as a microcosm of his plan for the U.S.’ electric infrastructure. In this exclusive interview with former Power Grid Resilience Chairperson William “Bill” Bryan, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration at the Department of Energy, and current President of VB Energy Group, you'll see a detailed profile on the importance of public/private partnerships, the ever-evolving industry changes brought on by the CIP-14, and more. 

Navigating the Power Grid Threat Landscape

While nuclear, chemical and biological threats make for headline news, they are not among the greatest hazards faced by utility companies. They're focused on incidents that are more highly likely to occur instead - those caused by natural disasters or inclement weather. Consequences vary greatly, as do the criticality of the components at stake. The experts at the Power Grid Resilience event will touch on the threat landscape and offer advice on resolving their potentially crippling effects.

Former Chairman of FERC Discusses Power Grid Security

Addressing the vulnerability of the power grid before terrorists do has become a hot topic – every day in the press, in whitepapers, in utilities across America. With huge regulation changes on the horizon, many utilities are wondering how it will affect them.

Watch the exclusive interview with Jon Wellinghoff, Immediate Past Chairman of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a formidable expert in this subject to get his take on recent events.

During this 13 minute video, you will learn Jon’s insights on:

- What major steps the utility industry still need to take
- How the new standards from NERC are progressing
- Why microgrids are something that are an integral part of making the whole system more resilient
- How will these policy changes affect the utilities
- And much more

Protecting Your Assets from Natural and Physical Attacks

In this interview, former Power Grid Resilience speaker Richard Wernsing, Manager of Asset Strategy and Electric at Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), discusses how to conduct systemic and local analysis to evaluate equipment critically, how to protect key assets, and how to stay aware of potential threats - both deliberate and natural - through the hardening of critical infrastructure.

Past Attendee Snapshot

Take a look at the energy, security, resiliency and advanced technology experts who attended the last iteration of the Power Grid Resilience summit. Will you be there this year?

Ensuring Compliance vs. Building Resilience

Before a previous iteration of Power Grid Resilience, we sat down with Christopher Peters, Vice President, NERC/Critical Infrastructure Protection Compliance at Entergy to discuss the implication of the CIP-014, which at the time, was already causing marked changes throughout the industry.

Justify Your Trip Letter

Present your boss with this customizable letter detailing the reasons why you should attend the event and you'll be sure to receive approval to join us. 

Coordinating a Corporate Response Plan

CenterPoint Energy can be lauded for many things; chief among them for its Corporate Response Plan. Robert Martinez, the Manager of Risk Control & Business Continuity at CenterPoint, details how their Emergency Operating Procedure allows them to go above and beyond normal capabilities in the event of an issue, how to run the most relevant tests and how their strategy continues to evolve through discussing the findings from drills and tabletops.

CIP Market Forecast 2014-2024

The safety and security of national critical infrastructure is currently of paramount concern for many nation states, as operators and organisations scramble to both secure their existing assets from a new range of threats, while at the same time invest in new developments which can boost economic growth. Cybersecurity issues in particular have emerged as the dominant factor in many Western nations’ homeland security posturing in recent years, dominating much of the new response planning and impacting on how private operators fit into overall defensive frameworks.

Power Grid Resilience Registration Form

Join us this March at the Power Grid Resilience Summit in Chicago. Download and submit your registration form or send it to: enquiryiqpc@iqpc.com

Utilities Infrastructure Security Market Forecast 2014-2024

The security of utilities infrastructure has always been important for governments and operating authorities alike, particularly after the events of the early 21st century. Yet now more than ever, there is renewed emphasis for protection as a result of the way in which cyber security issues have come to dominate new security thinking and planning in this sector.

Mitigating Risk with Research and Development

In this presentation from last year's Power Grid Resilience Summit, Rob Manning, Vice President, Transmission at EPRI, touches on understanding probability and consequence, high impact low frequency (HILF) events, cyber security, and more, in terms of the future of electricity.

Black Sky Hazards and Best Practices for Grid Resilience

Chris Beck, Vice President for Policy and Strategic Initiatives, EIS Council, provides examples of specific Black Sky Hazards, as well as their potential consequences and ways to combat them in this presentation from the last iteration of the Power Grid Resilience Summit.

Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

In this presentation from 2016's Power Grid Resilience Summit, Mark Weatherford, Principal, The Chertoff Group, talks about the current threats to cyber-security, including foreign countries, espionage and hacktivist actors, and inside threats, as well as different ways to stop them.

Challenges for Tomorrow's Electrical Power Grid

As the United States economy and society have become more reliant on the uninterrupted flow of electricity, the power grid upon which it depends for that supply has experienced deteriorating reliability. The grid loses power 285 percent more often today than in 1984. These power losses impose tens of billions of dollars of losses on American businesses each year.

Past Presentation Packet

In this Past Presentation Packet, Rob Manning from EPRI, Chris Beck from EIS Council, and Mark Weatherford from The Chertoff Group discuss some of the key topics from last year's Power Grid Resilience Summit, including strategies to mitigate risk with research and development, the best practices for grid resilience against Black Sky Hazards, and critical infrastructure cyber security.

Connecting Microgrids With Public-Private Partnerships

Moving forward with plans to address the modernization needs of the nation’s electric grid is a vast undertaking, estimated to require some $2 trillion of investment over the next two decades. Providing the electricity that has become so essential to all aspects of American business, governmental and daily life requires updating not only the infrastructure and technology, but also the business and governance models that support it. Created by our partners at Lexington Institute: www.lexingtoninstitute.org

Current Attendee Snapshot

Take a look at the current executives attending the 5th Power Grid Resilience Summit!

WESCO Utility Case Study

WESCO Technical Teams are a key value-add for WESCO customers that include product category and industry specific experts. See how in the real world, our experts find the problem, build a solution, and secure the result.

Cybersecurity and the Impact on Operational Technologies

This in-depth report will guide you through an overview of cybersecurity and operational technology as well as a multitude of statistics revolving around different types of attacks. Also inside, is a case study from Anixter regarding a nuclear power plant operator upgrading their security perimeter.

On-Site Agenda

Check out the agenda for the 5th Power Grid Resilience Summit!

Attendee GRID MAP

Take a look at our Attendee GRID MAP and see where our attendees are coming from and who you can expect to meet at this year. Showcase your product and services and position yourself as an event partner to key decision-makers across the industry. To request a copy via email, contact Terence.Wu@iqpc.com.

Energy Resiliency Approaches for DoD Installations

Scott Van Broekhoven, Group Leader - Energy Systems at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, discusses resiliency solutions and methods, critical loads on DoD installations, analysis methodology, potential for ancillary services benefits, recommendations and much more!

Utilizing Advanced Resiliency Planning

From building huge walls around a substation to prevent effective line of sight to disguising the substation to resemble something else entirety, there are no shortage of methods to create an effective concealment plan. Malcolm Van Harte, Power System Resilience Manager at Eskom South Africa, discusses the methods utilized by the various utilities and their level of effectiveness.

California Aims to Incentivize Utilities to Adopt Third-Parties

The California Public Utilities Commission has recognized that utilities are hesitant to pursue third-party energy sources because they are riskier and are negatively impacted by doing so. In December 2016, the CPUC approved a pilot program to incentivize utilities to incorporate cost-effective distributed resources.Take a look into this whitepaper by Lexington Institute for even more on the future of the power grid.

Attendee Investment Report

Take a look at what our attendees had to say about their investment priorities are in the infrastructure resilience area and more! If you prefer to receive a copy of this email Terence.Wu@iqpc.com

Danger! Virus Discovered That Targets America's Electrical Grid

Two security firms, ESET and Dragos, released reports about the discovery of a virus that aims to damage equipment on any nation’s electric grid. The virus is called Industroyer, also known as “Crash Override,” and targets computers that control electrical substations and circuit breakers.

Electricity Delivery Is An Open Target For Cyber Threats

The electric grid often utilizes industrial control systems to automate generation, transmission and distribution. As utilities adopt digital technologies to keep up with electricity demand and consumption, cyber attack vulnerabilities increase and new entry points emerge.

Balancing Smart Grid Data and Consumer Privacy

The grid must encourage innovation and make electricity usage available to customers and businesses all while respecting consumers’ personal privacy and security. States that have implemented such policies include California, Texas, Illinois and Vermont. These actions will be analyzed and compared to inform other states of elements they could incorporate into future policies to allow customers, businesses and grid operators access to critical data.

National Renewable Energy Lab’s: Best practices for protecting industrial control systems

Dr. Erfan Ibrahim is the Center Director for Cyber-Physical Systems Security & Resilience R&D at the National Renewable Energy Lab.

Erfan discusses;  

  • The industry best practices for creating a secure architecture for industrial control systems
  • Strategies to limit hacker sphere of influence
  • How to keep good network hygiene to best utilize new technology and information systems
  • Resiliency tools from NREL that enable industry leaders to create a more reliable and secure electric grid
  • Why electric grid security and resilience is such a high priority topic in the United States

Cyber Threat Data Sharing Needs Refinement

Technologies are being interconnected and integrated onto the nation’s electric grid to decrease weaknesses. However, these physical and computerized elements multiply the number of access points for cyber risks, making protection of the grid challenging. If done correctly, sharing cyber threat information eliminates the chances for one cyber threat or attack to affect multiple stakeholders.

RCADS Security Appliance is a Game Changer

The Security Oracle Inc.’s Artificial Intelligence Security Appliance is a Game-Changer for Grid Resilience Teaming with Bosch Security Systems, Inc. and Gallagher Security, The Security Oracle Inc. (TSO) promotes defense-in-depth best practices for protecting critical assets and transforms physical security from passive detection to real-time situational awareness and accelerated response to demobilize intruders with non-lethal actuators, i.e. directed high intensity sound, lights, and strobes.

https://thesecurityoracle.com/

Ensuring the Resilience of the U.S. Electrical Grid

This whitepaper, courtesy of the Lexington Institute, details the three main categories of investment for utility companies as they work to update and replace existing infrastructure. Many of the most important ongoing grid modernization and infrastructure improvements currently underway are focused on the development of a so-called “smart grid” that can (among other facets) better track power usage, measure it against traditional usage patterns, and identify anomalies. But long-term solutions must manage shared risks so that solutions do not slip between segments and sectors where governance gaps exist and direct responsibilities are unclear. As aging infrastructure is replaced and updated, embedding resilience within the electrical grid requires three main categories of investment: 1) managing and meeting overall demand to help avoid an adverse event; 2) expanding alternatives or substitute systems before and after an event; and 3) enabling rapid reconstitution if and when a disruption does occur.

OT-IT Convergence: Is it Really Inevitable?

One of the liveliest topics of discussion considers the widespread segregation of IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) departments, and the prospects for convergence. Traditional management of both sides are now appearing to be outdated, as IT is no longer restricted to back-office business and OT is no longer living in a bubble of SCADA and distribution management systems. The velocity of change in the technological environment has been pushing the two ‘sides’ together, and most importantly, the threats emerging in the cyber security space are forcing them to collaborate with increasing urgency.

Energizing Security: Germany and Austria Building Critical Cyber Defenses

The discussion surrounding information security in Europe continues to intensify as the pending introductions of new regulations collides with a time of heightened security. For businesses involved in critical national infrastructure (CNI), demand for the discussion has never been more urgent. Not only is the number of attacks increasing on CNI systems, but the sophistication of these attacks continues- in many cases- to outpace the provisions for countermeasure. In a world where disruption of IT systems can have a huge impact on the economy, these systems have become seen as a prime target for those trying to create political havoc.

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

The electric power transmission and distribution system (the grid) is a critical and extraordinarily complex part of the nation’s infrastructure. The National Academy of Engineering called the grid the world’s largest integrated machine and a central part of the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century—electrification of modern society. Reliable electricity service is essential to health, welfare, national security, communication, and commerce. Because of its scale, geographic reach, and complexity, however, the grid also poses many security challenges in maintaining reliable operation. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of the U.S. power grid is privately owned and regulated by the states, making it challenging for the federal government to address potential vulnerabilities to its operation, and perhaps especially its vulnerability to terrorist attack. This report, prepared by a committee of dedicated experts assembled by the National Research Council (NRC), addresses those vulnerabilities and how they can be reduced.

Cyber Threat Data Sharing Needs Refinement

A report courtesy of the Lexington Institute gives an insight into the technologies that are being interconnected and integrated onto the nation’s electric grid to decrease weaknesses. However, these physical and computerized elements multiply the number of access points for cyber risks, making protection of the grid challenging. If done correctly, sharing cyber threat information eliminates the chances for one cyber threat or attack to affect multiple stakeholders. In theory, one entity identifies a cyber threat or attack and shares the collected information with public and private sector partners. The intelligence is then applied to protect these partners’ networks. The intent is for data and systems to become more secure and less prone to cyber attacks when intelligence and resources are shared among many stakeholders. Without data sharing, it is almost impossible to detect, defend and contain systemic attacks early. While sharing cyber threat data sounds easy, it is complicated by legal, operational and privacy issues. Download this report to learn the latest in power grid cyber threats.

Substation Automation and Risk Reduction

In this presentation, Petter Fiskerud, Program Manager Power Transformer Resiliency, ABB, talks about adding advanced intelligence systems to substations to allow for an unparalleled ability to detect and minimize substation faults and security concerns. It also allows human operators the ability to make more informed decisions, faster. This presentation dives into how substation automation is reshaping the face of utilities.

Power Grid Convergence eBook: The Path to Cyber-Physical Resilience

This exclusive eBook gives an insight into the integration of cyber and physical technologies. Specifically, this focuses in on the top business drivers for integration, the top three priorities among utilities executives, the latest developments, ongoing security projects, a physical and cybersecurity strategy outlook and more. We have additionally included recommendations from established industry experts with solutions for implementing both cyber and physical security strategies. Download this eBook to learn the latest strategies for power grid security convergence.

2018 Outlook on Cyber Vulnerabilities, Cybersecurity Programs, & Renewables

In this interview with Mary Doswell, the former Senior Vice President of Dominion Resources Inc., discusses:

  • The benefits and costs of convergence
  • The cyber vulnerabilities most present within power grids
  • How remote capabilities can be improved
  • How to strengthen cybersecurity programs
  • What the future of power grids will look like, especially with the inclusion of renewables 

Unmanned Stations, Preparing Against Natural Disasters, & New Threats in 2018

In this interview with Michael Gonzalez, the Sr. Physical Security IT Systems Administrator for Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., discusses:

  • How to improve end point protection and unmanned stations 
  • Up-and-coming technologies
  • The largest challenges in preparing power grids against natural disasters
  • The new physical and cyber threats in 2018 

Hybrid Security-Lighting Systems for Critical Infrastructure Protection

This article, courtesy of Senstar, discusses the many benefits of using hybrid perimeter intrusion detection and lighting solutions to protect critical assets.

Having both lighting and intrusion detection systems working in parallel is a great security duo. But, what if perimeter intrusion detection was built-in to the lighting system and could be used to control it – deterring would-be intruders by eliminating the cover of darkness while detecting and locating those that aren’t deterred? A hybrid intrusion detection/lighting system means only one system to install, maintain and manage, considerably saving time, reducing complexity, and lowering costs. It also means more control over operation, enabling the lighting to react to the site's current security status. To learn more, download this infomative article.