When we least expect it, the power may go out in our businesses or homes due to bad weather, vegetation encroachment, sabotage, or other incidents. We rarely know what caused the power shortage unless it makes headlines in the news. NERC CIP Compliance may not be a familiar topic to you but it’s imperative to know what it entails. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) created this standard to ensure that all power plants are secure from cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and other threats. Are you still wondering why NERC compliance is important and what it is all about? Find out below.
Importance Of NERC CIP Compliance
The first thing you should know about why NERC compliance is so critical in today’s world is that more sophisticated hackers can do serious damage. This is if they infiltrate electric grid systems or nuclear power facilities without being detected. These attackers could create blackouts by shutting off generators remotely or even cause explosions in nuclear power plants. These are just two of the many possible scenarios that would happen if proper cybersecurity wasn’t implemented into all systems.
NERC compliance gives organizations a way to identify vulnerabilities and patch holes before hackers get the opportunity to do any damage whatsoever. It also provides guidance on how best to protect IT assets, prevent cyber-attacks, and create comprehensive emergency response plans should anything go wrong with the electric grid system again like what happened during Hurricane Sandy. The standard also evolves as threats evolve, so plant operators need to stay on top of these updates or risk being compliant with outdated rules, which may not offer protection from today’s threats.
NERC compliance is important because it protects both people and organizations from cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and a variety of other threats. It’s also updated annually to guide how best to protect IT assets against today’s evolving cybersecurity landscape – something that plant operators should be aware of if they want to stay compliant with the newest standards.
The goal of any organization or system that handles sensitive data like personal information should always be identifying vulnerabilities first before attackers can exploit them. NERC CIP Compliance does just that by outlining requirements for electric grid systems across North America, so there are clear guidelines for all parties involved about what needs to happen when an attack occurs. The more security measures put in place, the better, and NERC compliance offers plenty of them.
Who Uses NERC Compliance?
Many people do not know who uses NERC compliance but it is essential to know it is used in many different organizations. As stated earlier, it’s a critical standard for any organization that handles sensitive data like personal information and needs to protect itself from cyber-attacks or natural disasters. Some of these include, utilities that provide electric service, oil & gas companies, Manufacturers with highly interconnected systems and power generation facilities such as nuclear power plants, and many more.
NERC’s Pillars
You might be wondering how NERC succeeds and continues to succeed. This is possible because it has four pillars that it relies on to continue its success. These are security, reliability, efficiency, and sustainability. The first pillar is security which means they have a vested interest in keeping their systems secure from cyber-attacks and making sure those who do come under attack can quickly recover without any permanent damage being done.
Reliability is the second pillar since NERC ensures power plants remain operational even after an attack by having backup generators. Hence, there’s no interruption of service for either customers or staff members.
Efficiency refers to how much fuel is used during emergencies while still producing enough electricity. This helps because you want all your precious resources to go towards providing energy without wasting anything.
And finally, sustainability refers to how NERC ensures the power plants they regulate continue to have a long lifespan. This is so that energy can be provided for years and years without any concerns.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) standard, NERC CIP Compliance, is important in protecting electric grid systems across the US and Canada. It is critical for all organizations that handle sensitive data to stay compliant with security measures. The goal of any organization or system handling personal information is identifying vulnerabilities before attackers do, which NERC compliance does excellently.
