A Cyber Security Roadmap to the 2030 Energy System

EPRI is at the third and final stage of an ambitious, year-long collaborative effort to identify industry-wide drivers and requirements for the electricity subsector to optimize OT cyber security investments.  The first white paper titled Preparing for the 2030 Energy System: Why We Need a New Cyber Security Vision described metatrends and their impacts on OT cyber security and the need for intrinsic cyber security.  The simplest definition for intrinsic cyber security is that it is “baked in,” rather than “bolted on.”

Intrinsic OT cyber security can enhance and improve grid defenses against attack and overall grid resiliency.  Undoubtedly, it is an ambitious vision for electricity subsector stakeholders, but a vitally important one to strengthen the overall security of critical infrastructure.  To help develop that vision, EPRI’s second stage of this cyber security initiative engaged utility stakeholders in discussions that defined the future state for intrinsic OT cyber security.  These conclusions are documented in our latest white paper titled Cyber Security Vision for 2030. 

The third and final step is the development of an industry-wide roadmap to identify actions by and for electricity subsector stakeholders.  Led by EPRI cyber security experts, utilities, solution providers, and governmental entities will meet in a series of webcasts to develop a ten-year roadmap that describes the path forward to achieve intrinsic OT cyber security for utilities.  

This roadmap will identify meaningful stakeholder actions that enable cyber security to migrate to intrinsic security while accommodating legacy systems. Like the DOE’s “Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity” drove investments and priorities in the last decade, this roadmap will create an action plan for stakeholders to impact the next decade of security progress.

Roadmap development needs participation from all industry stakeholders, including utilities, vendors, regulators, standards development organizations (SDOs), federal and state agencies, industry associations, and integrators.  EPRI invites your participation to help ensure that this roadmap delivers a cohesive, collaborative, and technology-agnostic plan to achieve intrinsic cyber security for the future energy system.  Contact me for more information.