U.S. Power Grid vs. Smart Grid

November 16, 2009

IST 220 - The Red TeamJosh Wentz, Kim Klinikowski, Christopher Alvarado, Marco DeLeonardis, Brendan Jann, & Jon Vettori

U.S. Power Grid

[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

How the power grid works

[http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/blackout/09-06-final-report.pdf]

How the smart grid works

[http://www.ngpowereu.com/news/smart-grid-revolution/]

How the smart grid works

[http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/images/454570a-6.jpg]

Have any attacks been done to the U.S. power grid?

Recent reports that federal authorities had detected signs that hackers had penetrated the computer systems that control the power grid LIKELY FROM Russia and China ▪ Both countries with militaries known to be

pursuing cyberwarfare capabilities UNCLEAR when these intrusions had

taken place CLEAR that they had left a software

signature

[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

Is it true that no national power grid anywhere in the world has been brought down by a cyberattack?

FACT: No national power grid anywhere in the world has been brought down by a cyberattack Most countries have much fewer

defenses from cyberattacks than the U.S. "

It's virtually impossible to bring down the entire North American grid," says Major General (Rtd) Dale Meyerrose, a cybersecurity expert who recently retired as chief information officer for the Director of National Intelligence.

The electricity-distribution system is highly decentralized, and there's no central control

BUT: This is not to suggest that the power grid cannot be hacked into In 2007, CNN reported that

researchers working for the Department of Energy had mounted an experimental cyberattack against a power generator and were able to get it to self-destruct.

Details of the experiment were kept from the public at the request of the Department of Homeland Security.

[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

How vulnerable is existing U.S. power grid?

EXISTING POWER GRID Highly decentralized & no central control Deals with breakdowns all the time & the industry knows how to fix them

▪ On any given day, 500,000 Americans experience an outage, says Arshad Mansoor of the Electric Power Research Institute, which is funded by the utility industry

▪ The grid has built-in redundancies and manual overrides that allow for restoration of supply

Damage done to the power supply can be undone ▪ If a section of the power grid goes down, they start it up again▪ EX: "In the banking system, if someone hacks the system and steals information about

500,000 credit cards, it's incredibly tough to undo that damage," says Mansoor. “ Most critical power users have multiple contingencies for uninterrupted

power supply and backup generation▪ In the event of a cyberattack on the grid, they would be able to operate for long

periods — days, weeks and, in some cases, indefinitely — without much difficulty.▪ EX: the military, hospitals, the banking system, phone networks, Google's server farms

PROBLEM▪ An aging electric infrastructure that has not had major technological advancement in a

nearly a half century▪ The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects a 40% increase in electric demand over

the next 20 years that will cost utilities a projected $3 trillion

[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

How vulnerable will the future U.S. power grid “The Smart Grid” be?

FUTURE POWER GRID GridWise was born, an initiative created under the DOE Office of

Electricity and Energy Reliability▪ FOCUS: To stimulate the development and adoption of an intelligent energy

system, or smart grid, to make the U.S. electric system more reliable and efficient

There are already 2 million smart meters in use in the U.S. Obama Administration's 2010 budget includes $4.5 billion in

spending on such technology FEAR OF SOME

Relies even more on computer networks to allow both utilities and individual consumers to monitor and reduce power usage.

these meters may allow hackers access to the grid's control systems BENEFIT OF OTHERS

The use of more-sophisticated monitoring systems makes the grid safer

[http://contractingbusiness.com/awards/design/smart-people-smart-grid-1009/index.html]

Group Reaction

IN RESPONSE TO“US Major General (Meyerrose), Researcher at Electric Power Research

Institute (Mansoor), and other experts agree that the utility industry's vulnerability will grow as its command-and-control systems rely ever more on computer networks”

The Vision of the future power grid “the smart grid” DOES pose additional challenges BUT NOT vulnerabilities Today, security of information is of utmost importance to both the

government and to companies Systems that house and transfer this information rely on secure computer

networks Creating new means of power security is a challenge that must be

overcome POLITICAL HOPE

▪ Introduction of a new bill, by Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe, to impose cybersecurity standards on private industry — regulations that would likely affect the utilities and other vital infrastructure

HOPE OF NEXT GENERATION▪ Entire majors have been created – security risk analysis – to prepare the next

generation of professionals

Group Reaction

IN REPONSE TOThe fears of the future power grid “the smart grid”  The advancement of new ways to create an intelligent

energy system should not be hindered by the fears of attack Smart grid technology will involve information technology in

order for both companies & consumers to monitor energy use▪ Visualizing where problems exist will allow companies & people to

change energy consumptive behaviors The benefits of the future power grid will outweigh the security

challenges of its infrastructure

Bibliography

http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/blackout/09-06-final-report.pdf Page 13 Title:"Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout in the United States and Canada" Dated April 2004. Accessed on 2008-12-26

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html

http://contractingbusiness.com/awards/design/smart-people-smart-grid-1009/index.html

http://www.ngpowereu.com/news/smart-grid-revolution/

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/images/454570a-6.jpg

Questions?

IST 220 - The Red TeamKim Klinikowski, Josh Wentz, Christopher Alvarado, Marco DeLeonardis, Brendan Jann, & Jon Vettori