Preventing Vulnerability
Annabelle Lee is a principal technical executive in the Power Delivery and Utilization Sector of the Electric Power Research Institute. She provides technical oversight to several projects in the Cyber Security and Privacy Program. Her current technical focus is on applied cryptography, security specifications, attack surface analysis, strategic planning and coordination, and cyber security risk management.
The electricity sector is a critical infrastructure in every country because other critical infrastructures, such as telecommunications, finance, health, and transport depend on it to operate. As utilities work to improve the grid with a goal of making it more capable and more reliable, robust cybersecurity protections are of paramount importance.
Members of the Council of European Energy Regulators and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners met to share regulatory perspectives outside Washington, D.C. on April 27 this year. The event marked the first time the groups had convened to debate trends and potential future cybersecurity issues in the electric and natural gas sectors.
Meeting organizers asked the Electric Power Research Institute to share its perspectives on utility cybersecurity with representatives of regulators, research organizations, utilities and members of the diplomatic corps, among others.
Because I had recently completed a yearlong stint on a European Commission committee that assessed the cybersecurity of utilities in the European Union, the meeting was an ideal platform to dive deeper into utility approaches to cyber protection in Europe and the U.S.