From: InfoSec News (alertsinfosecnews.org)
Date: Thu Apr 12 2012 - 01:50:44 CDT

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http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120411_4285.php

By Aliya Sternstein
Nextgov
04/11/2012

President Obama's top cybersecurity official on Wednesday said utilities must
pinpoint security gaps in their electricity delivery systems on a regular
basis.

The Energy Department, in cooperation with the White House, Homeland Security
Department and power companies, this month is expected to test a voluntary
reporting model that assesses an individual utility's security posture to
identify where safeguards are needed most. As of March 30, the Office of
Management and Budget was finalizing information collection procedures for the
trial.

The nation's energy sector must perform "active risk management performance
evaluations, continuous monitoring, exercises and simulations to determine on a
regular basis how we're doing," White House cybersecurity coordinator Howard
Schmidt told industry and government leaders at McAfee's annual public sector
conference.

As the industry moves toward smart meters with Internet-connected sensors that
help utilities and customers economize, it is becoming a hacker target. Thieves
can game the system to display less power than the actual amount consumed,
while adversaries theoretically could darken cities by breaking into industrial
control systems.

[...]

_______________________________________________
LayerOne Security Conference
May 26-27, Clarion Hotel, Anaheim, CA
http://www.layerone.org

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