Evolving Electric Power Systems and Cybersecurity (Unabridged‪)‬

Electricity is essentially the lifeblood of the modern, technological society that we enjoy, for without it, the devices and machinery that enable our economy would not be able to function. Electric power is generated in power plants across the country, and transferred through a network of transmission lines at high voltages to distribution systems, which then bring electric power to the many residential, commercial, and industrial end-users. The grid is another name for the transmission system, i.e., the interconnected group of power lines and associated equipment for moving electric energy at high voltage between points of supply and points where it is delivered to other electric systems

The US grid is aging, and one of the tools for modernizing the system is the incorporation of computerized systems that allow for the rapid monitoring and control of the equipment used in the grid. Connecting these systems to the internet has increased the ability to remotely control aspects of the grid, but this has come with increasing concern for the grid’s cybersecurity, as digital systems can be accessed and controlled remotely. The grid also appears to be evolving from a model of central station power plants meant to capitalize on economies of scale, to a more distributed model based on renewable electric power generation. When combined with a growth in internet capable devices (i.e., the internet of things), this potentially leads to a growth in entry points and an increasing attack surface for cyberattacks.