Ernie Hayden, Managing Principal for Verizon?s Industrial Controls Systems Cybersecurity recently answered questions posed during a Zpryme investigation regarding data security and vulnerabilities posed by the Smart Grid, including the immediate security concerns utilities should have regarding data breaches. via Verizon Exec Discusses Smart Grid Security.
Introducing smart meters is making the electricity grid increasingly electronic, which saves time and money for utilities since they don’t have to send a person to read the meter. But this increasing ‘digitalisation’ also adds a lot more opportunities for tampering with the meters in some way, resulting in security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities obviously need Continue reading →
In their recent report on Smart Grid Cyber Security, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) made some interesting observations (thanks to Andy Bochman of Smart Grid Security Blog for pointing this out). The Smart Grid is the way of the future in electricity management. It is needed, and is, frankly, the smart way to go. That Continue reading →
Researchers probing the security of smart-grid technology presented their results at the Black Hat Briefings, and released a tool to help spot vulnerabilities in new smart meters. “People are going to be messing with the meters,” said Don C. Weber, senior security analyst at InGuardians. The software tool, called OptiGuard, can help equipment vendors and Continue reading →
Utilities traditionally focused on engineering the electric grid for reliability, and have well established metrics and benchmarks to gauge their performance to reliability objectives. But today’s grid also has serious vulnerabilities highlighted in recent widespread and lengthy power outages caused by downed power lines. Smart Grid technologies offer the opportunity to significantly re-engineer the supply Continue reading →
SecureState will be releasing Termineter, an open source tool that allows users to interact with Smart Meter utility meters over the optical interface. This is the first framework designed to give individuals access to manipulate smart meters. The Termineter framework allows authorized individuals to test Smart Meters for vulnerabilities such as energy consumption fraud, network Continue reading →
The fragile state of energy grid cybersecurity has been detailed in a variety of public and private sector discussions over the past year, but consensus on how to eradicate current and future vulnerabilities has been slow to develop. According to the latest survey sponsored by nCircle and EnergySec, this lack of standardization and forethought continues Continue reading →
Smart grid cybersecurity just got a lot harder to ignore. This week has brought a new alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, detailing some important cybersecurity vulnerabilities contained within some critical smart grid gear. Backing that up, Greentech Media has been briefed on an in-depth report on how one utility found similar vulnerabilities Continue reading →
The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday that seeks to address security vulnerabilities in the nation’s energy grid. The legislation, which now heads to the House floor, would charge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with the responsibility of identifying and addressing weaknesses in the country’s energy delivery system. via House Continue reading →
“Smart Grids: An Introduction,” is a report published by the Department of Energy, or “DOE,” to introduce U.S. consumers to the goals, benefits and smart technology underpinning the multi-billion dollar government smart grid investments planned for the coming decade. The report lays out, in simple terms, the state of the grid, its vulnerabilities and a Continue reading →
LogLogic, a log, compliance, and security management solutions vendor, recently surveyed information security professionals from America’s energy and utilities companies, both large and small, and found that all of those surveyed agree compliance with NERC standards alone is not enough when it comes to infrastructure protection. Recent studies, LogLogic says in its report on the Continue reading →
