Thursday, July 16, 2009

Danahy's Smart Grid Security Wake-up Call

The Discovery Channel's Tech site is featuring an article by Jack that includes this alarm:
Now is the time to ensure that the smart grid is secure. Billions of dollars are being set aside to build out the infrastructure and security should be a primary component. Just imagine an Internet without passwords, virus scanners, firewalls, encryption or antispyware. That's the kind of national power system we face if we don't starting thinking about to how protect the new grid against attack. Security must become as central to the goals of the smart grid as cost-savings, energy independence and environmental protection.
That's what we call the grid, albeit on more isolated nets ... and largely what's being deployed today in pilots across the country while early standards are being hammered out.

Danahy calls for three things fast: 1) Defining mandates, 2) Creating pre-purchase standards, and 3) Robust management resilient enough to deal with successful breaches.

Read the whole thing here.

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