Actions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are forcing power and utility organizations to increase their reliance on remote access and fewer on-site operational staff, raising cybersecurity concerns. We talked to Jason Haward-Grau of KPMG Cybersecurity Services about how the sector is taking steps to bolster cyber defenses and expand their business continuity plans.
Question 1: How are the cyber operations of U.S. power generation and transmission organizations impacted by COVID-19?
The number one priority of utilities, like every other organization right now, is maintaining a healthy and effective workforce. At the same time, chief information security officers (CISOs) must still ensure cybersecurity coverage for information and operational technology (IT and OT) as traditional competencies are eroded by the need to operate under business continuity plans (BCPs). It’s much more difficult to patch devices, keep operations current, and protect the overall organization from cyber intrusion all while a substantial portion of the workforce is operating remotely.
Meanwhile, like other industries that require a significant number of on-site employees, utilities have been structuring teams, shifts, and workspaces to support social distancing and protect employees who must work on site. In the power and utility sector in particular, most operations are managed in a single control room where staying six feet apart is a logistical challenge. Many of the most knowledgeable and critical utility employees are older, and therefore in a category of people most at-risk for complications from the virus.
As the number of people testing positive grows, thereby increasing the need for more employees to quarantine, staffing levels are bound to be affected.
Question 2: What are the specific cybersecurity concerns for utilities?
Increased remote infrastructure usage by employees means more “holes”, more often, in the firewalls in both corporate and OT networks that require monitoring by the cybersecurity team, and an increased risk that malware—if successfully deployed in an environment—could impact safety, power generation, and operational integrity.
Social distancing measures also are forcing third-party suppliers, who are often highly specialized OT personnel, to work from home. These added “hops” through remote access to the plant open up even more vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity now must monitor dozens of key connections, instead of a handful, while they also work remotely. It also means that in the event of a security breach, there are fewer people on site to chase it down and prevent damage.
A lot of maintenance for older, non digital technologies also must be done on site. With the need to reduce the number of personnel on location at any one time, utilities have to determine which regular maintenance can be delayed to focus on essential work. At many utilities, turnarounds are largely on hold.
Utilities with renewable energy operations may be facing particular challenges. Distributed generation is even more reliant on integrated networks to share information. The control processes tend to consolidate in one control room, creating a single point of intrusion, and are often at a distance from the wind, hydro or solar farm. This can invite attacks across those distributed channels and result in a network outage or potential ransomware.
As bad actors seek to take advantage of the situation during this period of reduced operational strength, phishing attacks targeting utility employees are on the rise. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of an increase in cyberattacks related to COVID-19, including fake CDC and phishing emails.1 Cyber adversaries are already taking advantage of the situation, and phishing emails related to COVID-19 are surging along with their malware payloads.2
Utilities didn’t design their BCPs to operate under these circumstances for what could be an extended period of time, so they have to stop and think about how to address these issues. This is especially important as utilities are critical infrastructure, responsible to the government and citizens. The country can’t afford outages and downtime now.
The good news is that—having been targeted by advanced persistent threats for 10 years or more—utilities have a lot of experience identifying and fighting off attacks, and they have been working for years to bolster their defenses.
Question 3: What considerations should utilities keep top of mind as they protect their operations and ensure their BCP plans are as robust as possible?
The need for remote working has weakened the separation between IT and OT, and the staff on hand who can act to protect operations under attack has been, by necessity, reduced. However, utility organizations still have a number of steps they can take to help mitigate the increased risk.
With all the hard work that power and utility organizations have done for years to improve their cybersecurity and protect the infrastructure, the sector is in a better position than many to rise to the challenges presented by COVID-19. By keeping these new considerations in mind, utilities can help protect their operations while developing a number of new, effective ways of working that can be used again in the future.
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Footnotes
1 Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Alert Number I-032020-PSA: FBI sees rise in fraud schemes related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
2 Source: Dark Reading. “FBI Warns of Fake CDC Emails in COVID-19 Phishing Alert.” March 23, 2020
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