Cyber Security for Critical Energy Infrastructure: Enhancing Electrical Grid Security, Attacks on Ukrainian and Western Energy Sectors, Critical Infrastructure Management, Safeguards, Mitigation

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The United States power grid is a logical target for a major cyber attack because it connects all of the nation's critical infrastructures with electricity. Attackers consistently exploit vulnerabilities of the bulk power system and are close to being able to disrupt electrical distribution. We live in a world that is interconnected, from personal online banking to government infrastructure; consequently, network security and defense are needed to safeguard the digital information and controls for these systems. The cyber attack topic has developed into a national interest because high-profile network breaches have introduced fear that computer network hacks and other security-related attacks have the potential to jeopardize the integrity of the nation's critical infrastructure. The national and economic security of the United States depends on a reliable, functioning critical infrastructure. A comprehensive understanding of the effects of a massive power failure may help promote changes in the way cyber security is run on our most important critical infrastructure: the national power grid. This study investigates the robustness of the power grid's network system, the collaboration between public and private sectors against cyber threats, and mitigation requirements in areas of weakened controls such as program planning and management, access controls, application software development, and system software and service continuity controls.

We live in a world that is interconnected, from personal online banking to government infrastructure, which consequently requires network security and defense to safeguard the digital information and controls for these systems. The cyber-attack topic has developed into a national interest because high-profile network breaches have created fear that computer network hacks and other security related attacks have the potential to jeopardize the integrity of the nation's critical infrastructure. The United States requires a functional and resolute critical infrastructure to cultivate its economic and political strength.

The most important asset within the nation's 16 critical infrastructure lineup is the national power grid. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refers to the energy sector as the "backbone of our nation's economy, security, and health." Without electrical power, just about everything from emergency services equipment to residential lighting, in our information-age reliant society will not work. Parts of the U.S. electrical network are aging past a century, comprised of power plants averaging 30 years old. The massive and outdated electrical grid is a sprawling machine constructed of millions of equipment pieces, many that require replacement or overhaul. Obsolete equipment that are now interconnected to complex automated systems have the potential to leave an entire electrical grid vulnerable to hackers. If hackers were to remotely shut off decrepit but critical electrical transformers at three strategically located substations in the Northeastern part of the United States during a winter when energy demand peaks, power would likely have to be routed from nearby states. The intentional act of shutting off important electrical transmission and distribution equipment can cause a domino effect by creating cascading power outages across multiples cities or states.