In “Setting New Standards for Integrated Security Systems,” a Solutions by Sector webinar presented by SECURITY and SDM, Keri Glitch, chief security officer at Iberdrola USA, discussed threats faced by energy companies today and the steps Iberdrola SA has taken to mitigate them.
NERC compliance requirements in the utilities industry have made it essential to monitor and report on physical access to various facilities, control rooms, substations and critical assets.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a proposal to improve electric grid security, sending the proposal back to the North American Electric Reliability Corp. for revision. The group must strengthen its rules about how utilities should assess and protect power substations and systems, the ruling says.
Nearly 70 percent of critical infrastructure companies surveyed by Unisys and the Ponemon Institute suffered a security breach in the last year. According to the report, “Despite staggering statistics around the number of security breaches within these sectors, results showed that they gap between security concern and preparedness is overwhelming.”
Expert testimony before Congress warned that an electromagnetic pulse attack on our power grid and electronic infrastructure could leave most Americans dead.
The number of electrical outages affecting 50,000 or more people for at least an hour doubled during the decade up to 2012. Most of the blackouts were caused by damage to large transmission lines and substations during extreme weather events, a new analysis from nonprofit Climate Central says. Michigan has the most outages, followed by Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In the latest development since the targeted attack on a southern California Pacific Gas & Electric Co. substation last April, PG&E is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the attack.
Thirty-five countries pledged Tuesday to turn international guidelines on nuclear security into national laws, including France, Britain, Canada and Israel. This move is aimed at preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear material. The initiative also commits countries to open up their security procedures to independent review – a further step toward creating an international legal framework to mitigate risks of nuclear terrorism.
Copper wire thefts from highway street lights have decreased over the past few months following a December plea for help, an Indiana Department of Transportation official said Thursday. Crews are crediting counter-theft measures put in place with the Indiana State Police.
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