WASHINGTON, July 28, 2020 – Electric grid advocacy group Protect Our Power today urged continued and enhanced coordination between utilities and federal agencies to urgently address threats to critical infrastructure, as highlighted by the recent advisory from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

According to Jim Cunningham, Executive Director of Protect Our Power:

“The recent Cybersecurity Advisory from NSA and CISA confirms the urgency of what Protect Our Power has been advocating for several years now – our electric grid faces very real threats on a daily basis, and we need to prioritize and address our known vulnerabilities in a comprehensive and unified manner.

“As this joint report highlights, this is especially true with regard to Internet-accessible Operational Technology (OT) assets, which are becoming much more prevalent across critical infrastructure sectors, including electricity, as companies and workers increase remote operations.

“Addressing grid threats will require a combination of government funding and regulatory incentives encouraging utilities to invest in cybersecurity.  It is also critical that utilities and key government agencies continue to proactively share cybersecurity information so that all asset owners know about incoming attacks and effective best practices and resources to repel or mitigate those attacks.  The grid is only as strong as its weakest link.”

About Protect Our Power
Protect Our Power is a not-for-profit organization designed to build a consensus among key stakeholders, decision-makers and public policy influencers to launch a coordinated and adequately funded effort to make the nation’s electric grid more resilient and more resistant to all external threats. POP is singularly and uniquely positioned as a non-partisan, unbiased thought leader able to serve as a convening, moderating, action-oriented voice.