by Citation News Editor
24. January 2012
The Department of Energy, in partnership with the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, recently released an initiative to help protect the nation's electrical grid from cyber attacks.
The initiative, known as the “Electric Sector Cybersecurity Risk Management Maturity” project, will use the expertise of private industry and public sector experts to build on existing cybersecurity measures and strategies. The DOE stated that the goal of the project is to create a more comprehensive and consistent approach to protecting the nation's energy delivery system.
As part of the new project, a “maturity model” will be developed that will allow utility companies and grid operators to measure their current capabilities and analyze gaps in their cyber defenses. According to the DOE, maturity models rely on best practices to identify an organization's strengths and weaknesses.
The initiative was launched with a meeting that included officials from the DOE, the White House, DHS, and more than two dozen senior leaders from across the electric sector. A series of workshops with the private sector will be hosted by the DOE over the next several months to draft a maturity model that can be used throughout the electric sector.
A pilot program to test the maturity model, assess its effectiveness and validate results is expected to include more than a dozen electric utilities and grid operators. The risk management maturity model resulting from this pilot program should be available to the electric sector later this summer, the DOE said.
“This initiative is another important step forward in improving the security of the Nation's energy infrastructure and ensuring that the country's electrical systems remain secure, reliable and resilient,” said US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Establishing a comprehensive cybersecurity approach will give utility companies and grid operators another important tool to improve the grid's ability to respond to cybersecurity risks.”
