Securing Tomorrow's Grid (Part I)

Deck: 

Protecting smart systems against cyber threats.

Fortnightly Magazine - July 2011
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The electric sector has steadily expanded the use of electronic controls and automation technologies during recent decades. But the widespread implementation of smart grid technologies will mark a notable shift in the U.S. electric grid, changing the way it operates, communicates, and ultimately delivers power. Millions of digital devices interconnected through complex public and private communication networks will collect a large amount of data to better understand the behavior of the power grid, enable greater automation to reduce system outages, improve system efficiency and resilience, and provide information for customers to better manage their electricity use. But these benefits will also be accompanied by a host of new cyber security challenges. Of the seven smart grid domains—as defined by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)1 (See Figure 1)—the transmission, distribution, and customer realms will see the greatest changes.

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