The document discusses and compares the existing U.S. power grid and the future "smart grid". The existing grid is highly decentralized with no central control, but relies on aging infrastructure. While it is resilient to outages and attacks, increasing demand will require upgrades. The smart grid will use more advanced monitoring through computer networks, allowing utilities and consumers to reduce usage. While this poses security challenges, experts believe the benefits outweigh the risks, and political support is growing for standards to secure critical infrastructure.

1. November 16, 2009 U.S. Power Grid vs. Smart Grid IST 220 - The Red Team JoshWentz, Kim Klinikowski,Christopher Alvarado, Marco DeLeonardis, BrendanJann, & Jon Vettori

2. U.S. Power Grid [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

3. How the power grid works [http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/blackout/09-06-final-report.pdf]

4. How the smart grid works [http://www.ngpowereu.com/news/smart-grid-revolution/]

5. How the smart grid works [http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/images/454570a-6.jpg]

6. Have any attacks been done to the U.S. power grid? Recent reports that federal authorities had detected signs that hackers had penetrated the computer systems that control the power grid LIKELY FROM Russia and China Both countries with militaries known to be pursuing cyberwarfarecapabilities UNCLEAR when these intrusions had taken place CLEAR that they had left a software signature [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

7. Is it true that no national power grid anywhere in the world has been brought down by a cyberattack? FACT: No national power grid anywhere in the world has been brought down by a cyberattack Most countries have much fewer defenses from cyberattacks than the U.S. " It's virtually impossible to bring down the entire North American grid," says Major General (Rtd) Dale Meyerrose, a cybersecurity expert who recently retired as chief information officer for the Director of National Intelligence. The electricity-distribution system is highly decentralized, and there's no central control BUT: This is not to suggest that the power grid cannot be hacked into In 2007, CNN reported that researchers working for the Department of Energy had mounted an experimental cyberattack against a power generator and were able to get it to self-destruct. Details of the experiment were kept from the public at the request of the Department of Homeland Security. [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

8. How vulnerable is existing U.S. power grid? EXISTING POWER GRID Highly decentralized & no central control Deals with breakdowns all the time & the industry knows how to fix them On any given day, 500,000 Americans experience an outage, says ArshadMansoor of the Electric Power Research Institute, which is funded by the utility industry The grid has built-in redundancies and manual overrides that allow for restoration of supply Damage done to the power supply can be undone If a section of the power grid goes down, they start it up again EX: "In the banking system, if someone hacks the system and steals information about 500,000 credit cards, it's incredibly tough to undo that damage," says Mansoor. “ Most critical power users have multiple contingencies for uninterrupted power supply and backup generation In the event of a cyberattack on the grid, they would be able to operate for long periods — days, weeks and, in some cases, indefinitely — without much difficulty. EX: the military, hospitals, the banking system, phone networks, Google's server farms PROBLEM An aging electric infrastructure that has not had major technological advancement in a nearly a half century The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects a 40% increase in electric demand over the next 20 years that will cost utilities a projected $3 trillion [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html]

9. How vulnerable will the future U.S. power grid “The Smart Grid” be? FUTURE POWER GRID GridWisewas born, an initiative created under the DOE Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability FOCUS: To stimulate the development and adoption of an intelligent energy system, or smart grid, to make the U.S. electric system more reliable and efficient There are already 2 million smart meters in use in the U.S. Obama Administration's 2010 budget includes $4.5 billion in spending on such technology FEAR OF SOME Relies even more on computer networks to allow both utilities and individual consumers to monitor and reduce power usage. these meters may allow hackers access to the grid's control systems BENEFIT OF OTHERS The use of more-sophisticated monitoring systems makes the grid safer [http://contractingbusiness.com/awards/design/smart-people-smart-grid-1009/index.html]

10. Group Reaction IN RESPONSE TO “US Major General (Meyerrose), Researcher at Electric Power Research Institute (Mansoor), and other experts agree that the utility industry's vulnerability will grow as its command-and-control systems rely ever more on computer networks” The Vision of the future power grid “the smart grid” DOES pose additional challenges BUT NOT vulnerabilities Today, security of information is of utmost importance to both the government and to companies Systems that house and transfer this information rely on secure computer networks Creating new means of power security is a challenge that must be overcome POLITICAL HOPE Introduction of a new bill, by Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe, to impose cybersecurity standards on private industry — regulations that would likely affect the utilities and other vital infrastructure HOPE OF NEXT GENERATION Entire majors have been created – security risk analysis – to prepare the next generation of professionals

11. Group Reaction IN REPONSE TO The fears of the future power grid “the smart grid” The advancement of new ways to create an intelligent energy system should not be hindered by the fears of attack Smart grid technology will involve information technology in order for both companies & consumers to monitor energy use Visualizing where problems exist will allow companies & people to change energy consumptive behaviors The benefits of the future power grid will outweigh the security challenges of its infrastructure

12. Bibliography http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/blackout/09-06-final-report.pdf Page 13 Title:"Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout in the United States and Canada" Dated April 2004. Accessed on 2008-12-26 http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891562,00.html http://contractingbusiness.com/awards/design/smart-people-smart-grid-1009/index.html http://www.ngpowereu.com/news/smart-grid-revolution/ http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080730/images/454570a-6.jpg

13. Questions? IST 220 - The Red Team Kim Klinikowski, JoshWentz, Christopher Alvarado, Marco DeLeonardis, BrendanJann, & Jon Vettori