Coupled with anticipated risk to employee and
customer safety and physical assets, unprepared distribution
utilities must act now to improve cybersecurity capabilities
Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of utility executives believe
their country faces at least a moderate risk of electricity supply
interruption from a cyberattack on electric distribution grids in
the next five years. This figure, included in
Accenture’s (NYSE:ACN) new report, Outsmarting Grid
Security Threats, part of the Digitally Enabled Grid research
program, rises to 76 percent for North American utilities
executives.
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The survey of more than 100 utilities executives from over 20
countries revealed interruptions to the power supply from
cyberattacks is the most serious concern, cited by 57 percent of
respondents. Just as worrying is the physical threat to the
distribution grid. Fifty-three percent of executives cite employee
and/or customer safety and 43 percent of executives cite the
destruction of physical assets as their biggest concerns.
“As highly sophisticated, weaponized malware is being developed,
a greater risk to distribution businesses arises from cyber
criminals and others who would use it for malicious purposes,” said
Stephanie Jamison, managing director, Accenture Transmission and
Distribution. “Attacks on industrial control systems could disrupt
grid reliability and the safety and well-being of employees and the
public. Not getting it right could be a brand killer, as well as a
real threat for a country and the community.”
While the increased connectivity of industrial control systems
enabled by the smart grid will drive significant benefits in the
form of safety, productivity, improved quality of service and
operational efficiency, 88 percent agreed that cybersecurity is a
major concern in smart grid deployment. Distribution utilities are
also increasingly exposed by the growth of connected Internet of
Things (IoT) domestic devices, such as connected home hubs and
smart appliances. These bring a new risk to distribution companies,
which is hard to quantify, with 77 percent of utilities executives
suggesting IoT as a potential threat to cybersecurity.
In Asia Pacific and Europe, cyber criminals are seen as the
biggest risk for distribution businesses by almost a third of
respondents. However, in North America, attacks by governments are
considered a bigger risk than in regions worldwide (32
percent).
“Deployment of the smart grid could open new attack vectors if
cybersecurity is not a core component of the design,” added
Jamison. “However, the smart grid can also bring sophisticated
protection to assets that were previously vulnerable through
improved situational awareness and control of the grid.”
Utilities must improve cybersecurity capabilities and develop
a resilient delivery system
A significant number of distribution utilities have much to do
in developing a robust cyber response capability with more than
four in 10 respondents claiming cybersecurity risks were not, or
were only partially integrated, into their broader risk management
processes.
In addition, the increasing convergence of physical and cyber
threats requires the development of capabilities that go well
beyond simple security-related national compliance requirements.
Utilities must invest in resilience of their smart grid as well as
effective response and recovery capabilities.
Proper protection is challenging due to the complexity of
distribution electric grids and increasingly sophisticated,
well-funded attackers, and many distribution utilities are still
under-protected and under-prepared. Only 6 percent felt extremely
well-prepared and 48 percent well-prepared, when it came to
restoring normal grid operations following a cyberattack.
“Cybersecurity must become a core competency in the industry by
protecting the entire value chain and the extended ecosystem
end-to-end. Utilities, already well-versed in reliable power
delivery and power restoration, need an agile and swift capability
that creates and leverages situational awareness, and that can
quickly react and intervene to protect the grid,” said Jim Guinn,
managing director who leads Accenture’s security practice for
resources industries. “Developing this new capability will require
ongoing innovation, a practical approach to scaling, and
collaboration with partners to drive the most value.”
Moves to build and scale cyber defense
While there is no single path forward, there are some moves any
distribution business should consider to strengthen resilience and
response to cyberattack, such as:
- Integrate resilience into asset and
process design, including cyber and physical security,
- Share intelligence and information as a
critical activity that could help create situational awareness of
the latest threat landscape and how to prepare accordingly,
and,
- Develop security and emergency
management governance models.
For more information on how distribution utilities can
effectively manage cybersecurity, access Accenture’s new report
Outsmarting Grid Security Threats.
Methodology
Accenture’s annual Digitally Enabled Grid research program
evaluates the implications and opportunities of an increasingly
digital grid. The 2017 research included interviews with more than
100 utility executives from over 20 countries. The executives
interviewed were those involved in the decision-making process for
smart grid-related matters. The countries represented included
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab
Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 425,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us
at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Security helps organizations build resilience from the
inside out, so they can confidently focus on innovation and growth.
Leveraging its global network of cybersecurity labs, deep industry
understanding across client value chains and services that span the
security lifecycle, Accenture protects organizations’ valuable
assets, end-to-end. With services that include strategy and risk
management, cyber defense, digital identity, application security
and managed security, Accenture enables businesses around the world
to defend against known sophisticated threats, and the unknown.
Follow us @AccentureSecure on Twitter or visit us at
www.accenture.com/security.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171003006410/en/
AccentureGuy Cantwell,
281-900-9089guy.cantwell@accenture.comorMatt Corser, +44 755
784 9009matthew.corser@accenture.com
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