Cybersecurity

President Trump has signed an executive order (EO) to boost coordination for and national resilience against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threats—both from nuclear warfare and natural events like solar superstorms. The action suggests new federal mandates to protect critical infrastructure against EMP events and attacks may be on the horizon.  Senior Trump administration officials from the National Security […]

Norsk Hydro, a major global aluminum producer that is also Norway’s third-largest producer of hydropower, has been stricken by an extensive cyberattack—reportedly ransomware—that forced its entire global network offline. The company powers its sizable aluminum production operations with 20 hydropower plants concentrated in Telemark, Røldal-Suldal, Sogn, and Vennesla, producing a total 10 TWh per year. […]

New Secure Media Exchange release goes beyond malware detection to identify next wave of USB attack types, keeping human authentication part of security  HOUSTON, Feb. 4, 2019 — Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced the latest release of Secure Media Exchange (SMX), a cybersecurity solution to protect industrial operators against new and emerging Universal Serial Bus (USB) […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) want to explore how federal and state authorities could incentivize cybersecurity and physical security in the power and natural gas sectors. The agencies issued a notice on Feb. 4 announcing they would jointly hold a technical conference on Thursday, March 28, 2019, from […]

Behind the digital tools that make the industrial internet of things (IIOT) in the power generation and chemical process industries are people. The upcoming Connected Plant Conference—Feb. 19–21, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina—will recognize the achievements of 11 individuals and companies who are fast risers in the field. Through insight and experience, these “Game Changer” champions […]

Power generators continue to expand their use of digital technologies. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are all part of a rapid transformation in how utilities are improving the

An Electric Power Research Institute-led collaborative utility project, called I4Gen (Insight through the Integration of Information for Intelligent Generation), is exploring new technologies for digitally

A key aspect of any digitization effort is providing easy access to data by engineersand other experts so they can perform advanced analytics to improve outcomes. In the March 2018 issue of POWER, an article

Industrial control system cybersecurity is today largely focused on securing networks, and efforts largely ignore process control equipment that is crucial for plant safety and reliability, leaving it woefully

Tablet increases safety, ease-of-use for mobile workers in oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceuticals and other hazardous industries TWINSBURG, OH (January 22, 2019) – ecom, a Pepperl+Fuchs brand and pioneer in hazardous area mobile devices, today introduced the next generation of their groundbreaking Tab-Ex 02® DZ1 , a tablet based on the ruggedized Samsung Galaxy Tab […]

Ensuring continuity is essential for power and utility services. Security experts in this industry must protect systems and data from cyber threats.

Before industrial control systems (ICSs) were network-connected, operators had little to worry about in the way of cyber threats. But as industrial environments, such as energy utilities, become more connected, they’re exposed to vulnerabilities and attacks. ICSs are used in large amounts of critical infrastructure, including the electrical grid, transportation systems, and wastewater plants. How […]

The power sector’s terror of a debilitating cybersecurity attack is magnified seemingly every day as new vulnerabilities or destructive threat actors are identified. But according to several industrial

Supports modern plants with the digital transformation of OT and IT environments Combines Voith’s in-depth knowledge of the OT and IIoT domain with Kudelski’s expertise in hardware- and software-based cybersecurity solutions Delivers tangible cybersecurity products and services for power generation and other industrial sectors YORK, Pa. / CHESEAUX-SUR-LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Voith, a global technology group that […]

Entities with industrial control systems (ICS) associated with bulk electric system (BES) operations must develop and implement plans that include security controls for supply chain management, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered in a final rule that formally adopts three new critical infrastructure protection (CIP) reliability standards.  FERC on October 18 issued Order No. […]

BlackEnergy, the malware used in a cyberattack that prompted a large-scale blackout in Ukraine in December 2015, has a successor—GreyEnergy. A group is using the malware to target industrial networks outside Ukraine, researchers  from Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET warn.  The researchers said in an October 17–released white paper that analysis of the previously undocumented GreyEnergy […]

Advantech-DLoG, a leading industrial and rugged computer provider, is pleased to announce its AIM-68 10″ industrial-grade tablet with compact and lightweight design, as well as multiple I/O ports (PresseBox) (Germering, 05.09.18) Powered by an Intel® Atom™ x7-Z8750 processor with support for dual OS, AIM-68 is aimed at diverse applications in various vertical markets. AIM-68 also […]

Cybersecurity experts have identified a new activity group that they say is targeting access operations at electric utilities in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and East Asia.  Cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc. told POWER on August 1 that though it has confirmed that the group—which it dubbed “RASPITE”—is actively targeting electric utilities, “there is no current indication […]

Horizontal drilling technology and fracking techniques have created a natural gas revolution in the U.S. The future looks bright for gas-fired power generation but there are three potential storm clouds that

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials in a July 24 webinar said that Russian hackers infiltrated a power plant industrial control system (ICS) in an incident that could have caused a blackout last year. However, as an industrial cybersecurity expert pointed out—and a DHS spokesperson confirmed—the impact of the incident may be overstated. The expert and DHS responded to a […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has ordered the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) to broaden, within six months, its Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards to include mandatory reporting of cybersecurity incidents that could harm the bulk electric system (BES). FERC’s Order No. 848issued on July 19 directs NERC to develop and submit […]

A bill codifying the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) role in addressing industrial control systems (ICS) cybersecurity has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. While H.R. 5733, “DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act,” contains no mandates for the private sector, it directs the DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to develop and maintain […]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on June 11 slapped sanctions on five Russian firms and three Russian individuals for several “significant” malicious cyber-enabled activities, including cyber intrusions in the U.S. energy grid. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions are authorized under President Obama’s Executive Order 13694, “Blocking the Property of Certain […]

Building power plants is only the first step to generating success. Running plants efficiently, and consistently improving efficiency as they run, is the path to putting profits on the bottom line. Building

On May 14, 2018, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability released its Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity (“Plan”). The Plan is significantly guided by DOE’s 2006 Roadmap to Secure Control Systems in the Energy Sector and 2011 Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity. Taken together with DOE’s […]

Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plan to hold a public hearing May 31 on the safety record of the Arkansas Nuclear One power plant in Arkansas, whose two units are among three cited by the agency for poor performance and other problems in its annual assessment of the nation’s nuclear fleet. The […]

A relatively new cyberattack threat activity group dubbed “XENOTIME” is intent on compromising and disrupting industry safety instrumented systems globally, and cybersecurity experts are warning it is “easily the most dangerous threat activity publicly known.” According to  global industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity firm Dragos Inc., XENOTIME is behind TRISIS (also known as TRITON), the […]

Cybersecurity threats are outpacing the energy sector’s “best defenses,” and costs of preventing and responding to cyber incidents are straining company efforts to protect critical infrastructure, the Department of Energy (DOE) warned as it released a comprehensive five-year cybersecurity strategy for the industry. The Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity, dated March 2018 but which […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over the past two weeks has made a string of funding announcements, including nearly a half-billion dollars of new investment in power-related initiatives. The funding backs advancements in cybersecurity, advanced nuclear, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal, and energy storage. $25 Million for Cybersecurity.On April 16, the DOE’s Office of […]

Malware-based attacks against utilities and power plants are increasing six-fold according to a recent federal report. Power plants have become an appealing target because of a lack of detection and monitoring