Shedding Light on Smart Grids and Cyber Security: New Standards to Keep Them Smart and Secure

Material events are unfolding right now in the energy sector - from the roll out of the industry's Smart Grid and IP-based SCADA systems to the government's Perfect Citizen Program. Such events are changing the way we think about security and the typical day-to-day responsibilities of companies, individual employees, and even our customers.

The energy industry is changing from a closed network / secure the perimeter model to an open network that allows insiders to send information out of the secure network and outsiders in to see data and access internal applications remotely that was not previously available.

A successful cyber attack against the control systems of the interconnected electric grids of the United States could plunge cities and states into darkness, bring commerce to a stop, and open the door for physical terrorist activities. The risk of cyber attacks on the electric grids, exacerbated by reports of numerous intrusions that have left potentially dangerous "bots" on the control systems of many utilities, continues to drive the urgency to establish the visibility, intelligence, and automated solutions that can protect the Bulk Electric System (BES) from malicious attack.

In short, a lack of situational awareness and defense-in-depth cyber security creates significant exposure to the electric grids and our critical infrastructure.

Download and read this thought leadership paper to learn more about:

• The increase in cyber threats, the need for cyber security and how it's affecting the BES
• NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards
• Why the NERC standards are not working as intended
• Steps that are being taken to correct the situation
• The new proposed NERC CIP 10 and 11 and how they will help address the current environment
• Situational awareness and security best practices for protecting the Electric Grids
• How IT security and compliance automation solutions - Tripwire Enterprise and Tripwire Log Center - can help your organization get and maintain continuous cyber security and compliance so that you can take control of your IT infrastructure