To bolster the cybersecurity of the electric grid nationally, a new study identifies how states and state utility commissions can use existing tools to break down barriers that leave the distribution system vulnerable to massive disruption. The study was conducted by the
Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) for the non-profit grid advocacy group Protect Our Power.
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Protect Our Power Executive Director Jim Cunningham issued the following statement on October's designation as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Protect Our Power is a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen the reliability and resilience of the U.S. electric grid.
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The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), now incorporating OpenFog, has announced the Security Maturity Model (SMM) Practitioner's Guide, which provides detailed actionable guidance enabling IoT stakeholders to assess and manage the security maturity of IoT systems. Along with the publication of the SMM Practitioner's Guide is an update to the IoT SMM: Description and Intended Use White Paper, which provides an introduction to the concepts and approach of the SMM.
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According to Xage Security, the company's Xage Enforcement Point (XEP), for the first time, enables role-based access control and single sign-on for every device, from legacy control systems to the newest IoT machines -- even those previously lacking any access control protection.
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The Internet of Things Security Institute (IoTSI) announced today that it has released an IoT Security Framework for Smart Cities and Critical Infrastructure. Alan Mihalic President of the IoT Security Institute says the objective of the IoTSI 's to provide the cyber and privacy frameworks that can be implemented from the base build through to the build completion.
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A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories has partnered with EPB, a Chattanooga utility and telecommunications company, to demonstrate the effectiveness of metro-scale quantum key distribution (QKD) as a means of secure communication for the nation's electricity suppliers. This initial milestone is part of the team's three-year project focused on next-generation grid security.
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The study, conducted for Protect Our Power by the law school's Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE), recommends that state utility commissions exercise their authority to increase the flow of confidential information regarding vulnerabilities and best practices. It also identifies the diversity of regulatory approaches to cybersecurity regulation by utility commissions across the country as a concern that warrants attention and improvement.
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Recently (2/6), the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced their intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled "Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute: Cybersecurity in Energy Efficient Manufacturing."
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Under the terms of the agreement, Schneider Electric will collaborate with Nozomi to provide customers in the industrial manufacturing and critical infrastructure segments advanced anomaly detection, vulnerability assessment and other cybersecurity solutions and services, helping them to control, prevent and mitigate risks to their operations and business performance.
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The New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced recently the authorization of nearly $16 million in funding for two major information technology initiatives. The first is targeted for hybrid computer storage and is designed to cover several Life Extension and Modernization measures to refresh and sustain data center infrastructure as well as wired and wireless networking technologies; the second initiative is designed to bolster existing cyber security measures to protect NYPA from constantly evolving threats.
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