critical infrastructure

In a special edition of The POWER Podcast, released in collaboration with the McCrary Institute’s Cyber Focus podcast, POWER’s executive editor, Aaron Larson, and Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and Professor of Practice at Auburn University, discuss the evolving power grid and cybersecurity challenges. Specifically, they highlight […]

UPDATED (Oct. 11): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has upgraded its G4-level “severe” geomagnetic storm watch to a G3-level “strong” geomagnetic storm warning after an anticipated coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived at Earth at 11:15 a.m. EST on Thursday, traveling at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour. The G3-level warning is now in […]

Let’s be honest. Operational technology (OT) security issues are expected. Traditional OT systems were designed for specific functional—operational—purposes. Plus, they were designed to last for many decades. The power grid, the water supply, the manufacturing plant floor, these ubiquitous 24/7/365 operations fuel daily activities—and they power as much business as they do hospitals that care […]

FBI Director Christopher Wray, while speaking at the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats in Nashville, Tennessee, in April, warned that U.S. critical infrastructure is a prime target of the Chinese government. “The fact is, the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] targeting of our critical infrastructure is both broad and unrelenting,” he said. […]

The problem of the destructive effects of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on electronic and electrical equipment has been well-known for more than 50 years. All military equipment and critical equipment of special governmental services are reliably protected from such influences. There are many companies on the market that manufacture numerous EMP protection means that meet […]

The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

A wide range of industries fall under the umbrella of critical infrastructure, and they are all—as the name implies—critical. From energy production and water treatment to transportation and data storage, everything within critical infrastructure serves an essential purpose when it comes to the continued functioning of the nation. Unfortunately, that makes critical infrastructure sites a […]

In January, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) launched its new Building a Better Grid initiative. The DoE’s stated intention for the program is to create a more robust transmission system that will restore the nation’s electrical grid through expanded access and greater resilience. The initiative emphasizes supporting generation and distribution of clean energy, and […]

When securing network assets, a long and often complex list of configurations must be performed to ensure industrial control systems have the appropriate cyber protection. This article presents a systematic

President Joe Biden on his first day in office sent a clear signal that he would not follow his predecessor’s policies with respect to energy and climate issues. On Jan. 20, 2021, Biden signed Executive