The Urgency Of Protecting The Electric Grid From Cyberattacks (From POWER Magazine)

The clock is ticking to protect the electric grid from cyberattacks. Adversarial nations, terrorists, and criminal groups have been refining their techniques for years. Lloyd’s has warned a successful, coordinated intrusion could cost $1 trillion. Earlier this year, the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack showed even relatively modest attacks can be quite disruptive. The bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Biden signed on November 15 provides for substantial assistance. While beneficial, this assistance should be a small part of utilities’ decisions to make cyber investments. Lexington Institute’s Paul Steidler discusses these and related issues in an Op-Ed here.