NERC CIP compliance: Power grid under attack every four days - or is it more frequent?

Research by USA Today reveals that the US power grid suffers some kind of physical or cyber attack every four days.

Of particular interest is the high incidence of cyberattacks, although the most recent ICS-CERT report (the Cyber Emergency Response Team covering all industries utilizing industrial control systems) suggests an even higher incidence of cyber attacks.

In the 2014 ICS-CERT report, of the 245 actual incidents recorded, 80% of these were related to the Energy sector.

"More often than once a week, the physical and computerized security mechanisms intended to protect Americans from widespread power outages are affected by attacks, with less severe cyberattacks happening even more often"

Other incidents highlighted by the USA Today report range from vandals shooting at transformers through to individuals attempting to climb fences and enter power grid facilities.

With NERC CIP Version 5 now approved, security best practices to provide critical infrastructure protection from cyber attacks should already be implemented and operational. This report shows that the need for NERC compliance is more urgent than ever before.

Read the full USA Today article here