Cooperative Living May 2014 - 25

IT'S YOUR BUSINESS
Co-ops Tighten the Net
to Secure Digital Data
& Protect Members
A
midst continuing cyberthreats from
crafty computer hackers, electric
cooperatives are mounting sturdy
defenses to safeguard members' digital
data and ensure reliable power delivery.
Utilities are bulking up cybersecurity
with tools from the Cooperative Research
Network (CRN), the research arm of the
Arlington, Va.-based National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
CRN's Guide to Developing a Risk
Mitigation and Cyber Security Plan and
accompanying template help utilities of
all sizes craft a cybersecurity plan. The
cooperatively developed resources, free
for any utility, have been downloaded
more than 8,000 times.
Three innovations promise to advance
cybersecurity efforts: pattern recognition
software, an update of CRN's revolutionary
Guide, and securing data.
Most home and business computer
networks use a firewall - a virtual barrier
or hardware - to protect linked computers
from hackers, viruses, and other virtual
invaders. Utilities use firewalls to secure
systems, too. But sophisticated cyberthreats
make firewalls an aging technology.
" Firewalls are less able to provide the
level of security we require, " shares CRN
Program Manager Maurice Martin. " We
want to make sure that our co-ops have the
tools they need to work securely. "
To meet the challenge, CRN's developing
a way to replace firewalls with a
security tool that monitors computer
network traffic. The system memorizes the
normal pattern of operation. When the
system detects an abnormal pattern (a
possible intrusion), it sounds an alarm.
A Department of Energy grant of $3.6
million, with an additional $1.1 million
from CRN and partner Honeywell Corp.,
funds the research. Allies such as Pacific
May 2014/www.co-opliving.com
Northwest National
Laboratories,
Carnegie Mellon
University, and
Cigital Inc. will
work with CRN to
develop the cybersecurity
tool.
" We'll combine
high-level
functionality with
an easy-to-use
platform, " predicts
Craig Miller, chief
scientist at CRN.
" The system will simplify
cybersecurity
management for
small utilities with
limited resources. "
But responding
to emerging cyberthreats
is not a onetime
effort. It requires constant education,
awareness, and vigilance. New resources
- products, services, and educational
tools - are on the way.
Threats to security - online and to the
power grid - are real. Hackers take pride
in undermining computer systems and
finding a system's Achilles' heel. But
thanks to innovative cloud computing, utilities
are discovering ways to work together
to strengthen co-op security and upgrade
IT architecture.
" NRECA turned to the Science
Applications International Corp. (SAIC)
for its solid understanding of the smart-grid
marketplace and how new technologies
can be used to benefit the consumer member
at the end of the line, " explains
Martin.
That project aims to shore up technologies
that capture, store, and secure data
and information. Once completed, this
work will benefit both co-ops and their
members. SAIC is producing a series of
reports to help utilities fully implement the
smart grid. The reports will evaluate IT
developments (cloud computing, new
types of databases, and more) with an
eye toward how such developments can
support the co-ops and even solve their
needs. The goal? SAIC will map out an
" IT architecture " to explain how the tools
fit together to maximize reliability,
customer service, and cybersecurity.
All utilities are vulnerable to digital
invasions. But a continually evolving
set of cybersecurity resources and
innovations should help keep co-ops
and their members a step ahead of the
" bad guys. " 
Source: Cooperative Research Network
23
By B. Denise Hawkins
Cooperative Living May 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living May 2014
