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The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and Natural Disasters Summary of a Workshop (2013) / Chapter Skim
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3 Cybersecurity of the Grid
Pages 10-14

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From page 10...
... Stressing the ubiquitous nature of cyberattacks, Terry Boston, PJM Interconnection, recalled a common saying: "There are two types of people: those who've been attacked, and those who don't know they've been attacked." With such attacks becoming commonplace, it is crucial to understand where the underlying vulnerabilities lie in the electric power delivery system. Merging of Infrastructures Galen Rasche, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
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From page 11...
... 1990 2010 Low FIGURE 3-1 Average intruder knowledge and attack sophistication as a function of time. SOURCE: Presented at the workshop by Patricia Hoffman, Department of Energy, February 27, 2013; from Howard Lipson, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
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From page 12...
... NERC is working with a global network of governmental intelligence sources, vulnerability researchers, and others to develop products that specifically address emergent issues, particularly in the area of cybersecurity. A system is only as secure as its weakest link, and it is a crucial part of established NERC procedure to push mitigation measures out to the relevant bulk power system entities in a timely manner so that they may address the full chain of operations.
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From page 13...
... McClelland cited both the Aurora test at Idaho National Laboratory 2 and a collaborative project with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to identify critical frequency vulnerabilities for customer load shedding as evidence of the sensitivity of certain aspects of the physical infrastructure to cyberattack.
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From page 14...
... It is important to leverage industry relationships to share best practices and coordinate response plans. He pointed to the benefits of PJM Interconnections partnerships with DHS, the University of Maryland, Boeing, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as evidence of the way in which shared expertise can benefit the industry.
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Key Terms

  • software engineering
  • physical infrastructure
  • supply chain
  • bulk power
  • fred hintermeister

  • power delivery
  • communications network
  • increasing amount
  • average intruder
  • intruder knowledge

  • galen rasche
  • workshop presentation
  • terrorist threat
  • monitoring information
  • electric grid

  • security risks
  • central control
  • relevant bulk
  • mitigation measures
  • nuclear secure

  • information sharing
  • frequency vulnerabilities
  • coordinate response
  • regulatory process
  • vendor supply

  • communications infrastructure
  • power sector
  • toggling customer
  • smart meters
  • damaged physical


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