Cybersecurity from the control room to the substation

The power grid is becoming increasingly small-scale due to the integration of municipal utilities, renewable energy plants and the construction of new substations. The individual stations are often located far away from the central control room. Therefore, control is increasingly carried out digitally via remote access. However, communication within the plants is not transparent for central monitoring in the control room. Those responsible in the control room are blind to novel attack patterns and professional attacks that often run for months within the compromised network before the bomb is detonated. Faulty or damaged communications in substations and other remotely controlled power systems are not detected until they have already impacted the power supply. Switchgear thus becomes a prominent target for large-scale sabotage. Cybercriminals (and state actors) have an easy game there to either do direct damage or scout out the wider infrastructure unmolested as part of reconnaissance.

In the webcast, we talk about the blind spots in energy company cybersecurity - particularly as it relates to remote substations (substations, switchgear, renewable energy assets). We explain requirements to ensure cybersecurity and availability of grid control and telecontrol technology. And we discuss approaches for a holistic attack detection system that effectively secures the infrastructure from the control room to the power plants to the peripheral equipment against any threat.