Addressing the Threat

by Bonnie Biocchi, Executive Director

                                                

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” These famous words were uttered by Ben Franklin to warn his fellow Philadelphians about the threat of fire. Those words are as true today as they were in 1736 when Franklin first spoke them.

The world is threatened by many perils…war, disease, famine, natural disasters, the list goes on. Many of those threats are long-term, intractable problems that have plagued humans since the beginning of time. Sometimes people exaggerate the dangers creating a “chicken little” scenario wherein “the sky is falling” all the time. At other times, people become fatigued with the bad news of the day, making them less mindful of the dangers that really do exist.

Public Power is on the front line of some of those threats. Because the world is increasingly reliant upon and connected through electricity, threats to the critical infrastructure of the nation are increasing. Whether physical or cyber, these threats are real and our industry cannot afford to become blasé about them. 

This week, in response to events in the Middle East, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a primer for assisting in the protection of our Nation’s critical infrastructure. This guide outlines actions to thwart potential threats through the use of vulnerability mitigation and incident preparation. It also documents the various “Patterns of Publicly Known Iranian Advanced Persistent Threats” to help you think more broadly about your vulnerability in the historical context.

Later this month, I will be at the MEMA bunker in Framingham participating in the Mass Cyber Resiliency TTX (table-top exercise). Several of our systems will be joining me in the exercise during which we will be presented with several attack scenarios and will be tasked with determining best response plans. I will also be attending the FEMA Region I Executive Seminar conducted by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. We will explore the ramifications of a Black Sky Event. We’ll be studying the capabilities necessary to respond to and manage the consequences of a major cyber-attack impacting the key assets and critical infrastructure of the region. 

While it is a bit frightening to think about the catastrophic effects of an EMP attack and it is worrisome to recognize all that has to be protected to keep our infrastructure intact, it is also comforting to realize that there are many people who are devoted to doing just that. They take Ben Franklin’s watchwords seriously. Investing in an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. I hope that you will be especially vigilant over the coming weeks and months as these threats continue to multiply. 

Below are some resources that may be helpful to you as we tread through these turbulent times. 

https://www.neppa.org/

https://www.neppa.org/images/DHS_Guide_to_CI_Security.pdf

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/aa20-006a

https://www.publicpower.org/resource/public-power-cyber-incident-response-playbook