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There was also a 60 Minutes piece on cyber attacks that showed publicly, among other things, that long-rumored cyber attacks on power grid had occurred in 2005 and 2007. This piece clearly identified that the power grid is still very vulnerable to cyber attacks. [...] Much discussion has been given in recent years to cyber security of smart grids. The articles and media reports on the cyber vulnerabilities of our electric power grid bring back memories of the past: In the aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, when I became responsible for security R&D at EPRI, I received seemingly contradictory piles of reports/files that either claimed that “we are bullet proof” or “the sky is falling.” [...] Increasing the security, robustness, and efficiency of the nation’s electrical infrastructure requires utilizing sensing, communications, and control technologies in order to continually assess and optimize system performance. In this post, a method for the dynamic optimization of power distribution systems with an intelligent distributed secure control architecture is presented. This work represents a first step toward developing an analytical and multi-domain approach to assess the effects of smart grid technologies on distribution systems. [...] Major outages over the last several years have highlighted the need to update the nation’s electric power grid to provide a secure and reliable source of electricity for the future. Much of the antiquated infrastructure will be replaced with digital systems providing the grid with the capability to reconfigure itself and prevent widespread outages. Upgrading the power grid, however, will present many new cyber security challenges that must be dealt with before extensive deployment can begin. [...] Before deployment of a self-healing power grid, physical and cyber security issues for smart grid distribution systems must be discussed, including vulnerabilities and security needs. Planning has already begun to replace much of the antiquated electric infrastructure with digital systems providing the grid with the capability to reconfigure itself and prevent widespread outages. Often, this collection of digital overlaid systems is referred to as ‘smart grid’. The benefits from smart grid, however, go well beyond just increasing the reliability and security of the nation’s electricity supply. It provides a means to reach national energy independence, control emissions, and combat global warming. [...] How secure is our electric grid and what can we do to protect it in a post 9/11 world? In the aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, I became responsible for research and development (R&D) on infrastructure security at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Faced with many reports and files claiming either that “we were bullet proof” or that “the sky was falling”…it turned out that neither extreme was true of the entire electric-power sector. No doubt, however, the existing power-delivery system is vulnerable to natural disasters and to intentional attacks. A successful terrorist attempt to disrupt the power-delivery system could seriously impact national security, the economy, and the life of every American. [...] |
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