Include:
Tech
Cybersecurity
Business Strategy
Channel Insights
Stay Connected
Acer America
Acer America Corp. is a computer manufacturer of business and consumer PCs, notebooks, ultrabooks, projectors, servers, and storage products.

Location

333 West San Carlos Street
San Jose, California 95110
United States

WWW: acer.com

ChannelPro Network Awards

hello 2
hello 3

News

September 25, 2014 |

Cybersecurity Is a Top Concern for Energy Companies

A new survey finds cybersecurity is a top concern for energy companies.

Cybersecurity jumped onto the list of the top five concerns for U.S. electric utilities this year, yet fewer than a third say they’re prepared to meet the growing threat of an attack, according to a new survey.

“The industry is paying attention and actively seeking ways to bolster security practices to limit power system vulnerability,” says an annual report from the consulting, construction, and engineering firm Black & Veatch. “We are seeing an industry that is actively moving forward with the deployment of comprehensive asset protection plans following several high-profile cyber and physical threat events.”

However, only 32% of electric utilities surveyed for the report had integrated security systems with the “proper segmentation, monitoring and redundancies” needed for cyberthreat protection. Another 48% said they did not.

Cybersecurity ranked sixth a year ago and now is the fourth-highest concern for electric utilities, behind reliability, environmental regulation and economic regulation, according to the report titled “2014 Strategic Directions: U.S. Electric Industry.”

“This rise in concern about cyberattacks comes on the heels of headline-grabbing cyber incidents,” states the report, also citing a new round of stricter cybersecurity standards from federal regulators.

A federal analysis reported by The Wall Street Journal in March showed that if only nine of the country’s 55,000 electrical substations were to go down — whether from mechanical issues or malicious attack — the nation would be plunged into a coast-to-coast blackout. One month later, sniper fire knocked out a substation in San Jose, Calif.

Other reports, meanwhile, have said that virtually all the country’s gas and electric utilities were relying on vulnerable Windows XP operating systems at workstations, and that the electrical grid at large stands susceptible to cyberattack from abroad and organized criminal networks.

Such news has had an apparent effect, according to U.S. News & World Report. This spring, federal regulators adopted a new round of cybersecurity standards for the electric industry. Cybersecurity, in turn, “surged in the ranking of the Top 10 industry issues … leapfrogging two spots to number four,” the report found.

The new regulations, in particular, have sparked greater demand for security assessments.

“Foresight is forearmed. In an environment where threats are both real and virtual and physical damage can be triggered by natural forces or nefarious intent, the best approach is preparedness,” says the report. “There is not a single solution, but with an approach that addresses the physical elements of cybersecurity and the cyber elements of physical asset security, organizations will be better equipped and educated to manage the full spectrum of dangers.”

This article was originally published by our content partner Security Sales & Integration.


Editor’s Choice

MSP360 Bolsters Managed Backup Solution With Full Sharepoint Backup and Restore, Object Lock, and More

March 25, 2024 |

MSP360 CEO Brian Helwig details the latest improvements in its managed backup solutions and teases some new opportunities down the road for its partners in an exclusive ChannelPro interview.

Peer to Peer: Aurora’s Philip de Souza shares his secrets to creating a successful MSSP

March 19, 2024 | Philip de Souza

“It’s important that we understand when it comes to this whole MSP world that it’s all about the customer.”

Evolving State AI Regulations: Best Practices for Mitigating Risk

March 14, 2024 | Anurag Lal

While AI technologies can unlock tremendous business value, they also have potential risks.


Related News

Growing the MSP

Explore ChannelPro

Events

Reach Our Audience