The U.S. electric grid provides electricity to millions of homes and businesses via a complex and vulnerable network of power plants, transmission lines and distribution centers. It is essential to daily life and commerce in America. One of the greatest cybersecurity threats to the electric grid involves ICS or “industrial control systems.” ICS manage electrical processes and physical functions like opening and closing circuit breakers.
To reduce costs, improve energy conservation and grid reliability, ICS are merging with information technologies which rely on the Internet to enable remote control and monitoring. But this also creates huge opportunities for “hacktivists,” state-threat actors and criminals (cyber-ransomers) to access operational technology (OT).
