With an interconnected power system, the world's grid is smarter, more efficient, and more versatile. But these improvements also present a vulnerable attack-surface that bad actors exploit.

This issue of Energy Today is Part II in a special series on cybersecurity.

Blowing Past the Zettabyte Era
by Mark Mills, Energy Writer of the Year (2016)

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Let's consider cybersecurity in the context of today's digital world....

We live in the zettabyte era. Nothing in daily commercial activity is measured at such inconceivable scales: a product as tiny as a byte collectively consuming massive amounts of aggregate energy.

It's no wonder the digital attack surface is almost impossible to defend.

See also: The History of Cyber Security

Jack Voltaic:
Simulated Cyber-War Games
by the Army Cyber Institute

A city is experiencing an increasing number of seemingly random incidents. A major financial institution suffers system failures, sending shockwaves through the markets. Workers struggle to keep the public transportation system operating as critical control systems fail. Social media reports of terrorist attacks incite panic. The city’s first response capability begins to strain. Regional medical facilities are at capacity. The media struggles to inform an increasingly concerned public. Elected leaders and emergency response leadership gather in the city’s emergency operations center to analyze the situation and respond.
 
A sinister reality emerges when a foreign terrorist group claims that the city is under siege from cyberspace.

Now what?

See also: Ukraine: The Cyber-War Test Bed

Employees Can Be the Biggest Threat - And Asset - For Workplace Security

For companies and other organizations, sometimes the biggest threat comes from within.

See also: 5G Requires a New Approach to Cyber Security

Managing Risk in the Electric Power Sector

​The network of power plants and lines connecting to homes and businesses is widely considered to be among the most critical infrastructure in the world. 

It’s also one of the most frequently attacked.

See also: From Russia, With Love, from The Perfect Weapon, by David Sanger

News from the Society

The Editors of Energy Today welcome submissions of original articles for publication consideration. Please contact the editorial staff by email with questions or attach the proposed article as a Word document.

In case you missed it: Energy Matters (series 5, issue 19)
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