Part #1 – First in a Series on Smart Grids

By Jim Tiller, Vice President, Security Professional Services, North America, BT Global Services

Smart Grid (SG) represents a fundamental shift in the distribution and management of electrical power that will become the foundation of more efficient energy usage in the future.

The impact of SG to the power industry is analogous to the dramatic change the Internet has had on global business, economics and social behaviors we see today.  Of course, associating the embryonic stage of SG with birth of the Internet raises questions around security. 

The question is — have the inventors of SG technology learned the lessons of not including security in the fabric of a highly disruptive and foundational technology?

SG is simply the beginning

SG stands on its own as a dramatic change; it seeks to add greater control and intelligence in the consumption of electricity that will extend from generation, through distribution, and all the way to devices in your home.  SG will start with the obvious, such as household appliances, and will move to overall power consumption, and eventually become the foundation for matrix power management  

Have we learned a lesson?

So, have the inventors of SG technology learned the lessons of not including security in the fabric of a highly disruptive and foundational technology?  In some ways, yes.  There are multiple layers of security that have been incorporated, and many solutions providers have employed elements of proven technologies.  This act alone is testament to the desire to ensure security is built-in from the beginning, which is a far cry from other scenarios in history. 

However, there are some not-so-secure features in connection with how the SG space is evolving, including implementation of proprietary practices when existing, proven solutions exist.  Granted, there may not be many standards that map directly to the emerging technology; and modification may be needed to address legacy technologies.  But when it comes to network security, encryption and key management, there is a vast array of options born from traditional IT solutions.

Security is key

With this in mind, it should be no surprise that security is of great importance.  If a simple virus can disrupt business, imagine the implications for a country’s utility infrastructure.  There is more than enough evidence demonstrating that the existing utility infrastructure in the United States is vulnerable to attack.   However, if the infrastructure is not enhanced in a meaningfully secure fashion, we’re simply increasing the number of vulnerabilities and the potential for exploitation.  The more deeply rooted a technology is, the greater the importance of stability, scalability, and, of course, security.