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Editor's note: Often you see Andy Bochman's byline on Smart Grid News posts about smart grid security. But the tables are turned in this interview AOL Energy did with Andy. As usual, what he has to say is definitely worth reading.
By Peter Gardett
AOL Energy
For years predictions of the horror show that could happen if the nation's electricity
The building awareness of both the intensity of attacks and the holes in security made the issue a central point of discussion at the AGRION Energy & Sustainability Summit in New York City recently. "There's even more awareness now," IBM Energy Security Leader Andy Bochman told AOL Energy on the sidelines of the event. "We recommend utilities consider a fresh look at fulfilling their cybersecurity functions." In the past, devices have been physically isolated and often not connected by communications technology to more vulnerable IT systems, Bochman explained. As the smart grid, which makes the system more robust and reliable and easier to monitor, has been rolled out though, there is also a greater opportunity for disruption from hackers. IBM's technology is embedded across corporate America and in governments and municipalities, and both Bochman and IBM Vice President for Smarter Physical Infrastructure David Bartlett said at the AGRION summit that there is a tradition of building security into systems at the beginning. Big Blue is now recommending utilities revisit the way their own IT and cybersecurity operations work to be better prepared as the hacking heats up. One of the simplest, but potentially highest-impact, moves energy companies can make is to raise the profile of the head of security in company management, sending a message to employees, investors and other stakeholders about the seriousness with which they view cybersecurity. "Most utilities have done an excellent job to date but most treat cybersecurity as a black art," Bochman said. Creating a new position that reports directly into the C-suite and focuses on security company-wide is IBM's core recommendation for the sector, and included in a white paper the company released in late 2012. Continues on page 2 >>
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