Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS) Raleigh, North Carolina
Presentation Description: Today’s power plants are controlled by complex digital systems that monitor and adjust using algorithms and predictive routines. More of our electricity is generated by large solar and wind farms, often not supported by on-site personnel. As a society, we crucially depend on a reliable electric system. With this dependency, we have become vulnerable to any disturbances to the availability of electric power supply. As we rely more on the electric grid, the power plants that anchor the critical network have increasingly come under attack by bad actors seeking to wreak havoc and extort payments in exchange for returning the affected plant to service. While the importance of our electrical grid has increased, cyber-attacks nature has become less sophisticated and costly to perpetrate, all the while seeking to exploit larger attack surfaces. In response to this situation, the Department of Energy asked Congress for a $201 million budget request to address digital vulnerabilities after various cyber-attacks this year.
Two types of networks that support power plants are classified as either IT business networks or operation technology networks. This separation is designed to ensure that no malware or bad actors on the business network wormhole their way into the critical control networks. While these two systems are distinct, they both utilize digital networks and are vulnerable to attack.
Join Julian Kaufmann, Senior Vice President of CAMS Corporate Development, in this presentation to discuss:
• Reasons bad actors attack electric grid and NERC Compliance roles in protecting power plants • Common attack vectors and how power plants can prevent and protect themselves from digital vulnerabilities
Methodology: Case studies and past examples of cyber-attacks on power plants and solution recommendations.
Learning Objectives:
Understand reasons bad actors attack the electric grid and NERC Compliance roles in protecting power plants. Several reasons and motivations behind attempts or attacks on the electric grid include international attackers, ransom initiatives from hackers who seek compensation for cyber-locks, and internet activism from groups seeking to cause damage to political movements. As the complexity of the power grid and the growing threats of potential cyber-attacks increase, our networks can be compromised by accident or on purpose.
Understand common attack vectors and how power plants can prevent and protect themselves from digital vulnerabilities. A pivotal vulnerability to reliability remains in people, whether employees or contractors. Employees can unintentionally engage in phishing attacks, or contractors can undergo the potential risk of infection with unsupervised visitors and compromised devices to the plant network. It is recommended that firms increase their cybersecurity initiatives, such as ongoing employee cybersecurity awareness training or employment of outside auditors.
