subject: NERC CIP Standards – A Prerequisite for Distribution Automation and Smart Grid Technology [print this page] NERC CIP Standards A Prerequisite for Distribution Automation and Smart Grid Technology
The smart grid technology along with the integrated distribution automation system has become an integral part of every power industry as it helps to provide better and smarter electricity to all consumers at cost effective prices. But the use of computer network systems and the Internet has made this modern technology highly vulnerable to attack from external sources and cyber terrorism. Hence the North American Electric Reliability Corporation or NERC has come up with a set of compliance and reliability standards which have to be adhered to by every electric utility company to prevent such attacks and ensure maximum protection of the cyber assets.
The nine Critical infrastructure protection or CIP standards have been designed to cover every aspect of the DA system and provide protection to all cyber assets. CIP-1 and the 1a deals with the sabotage reporting of detailed documentation of all instances. Here the unusual disturbances or activities have been noted by the personnel. These reports are then submitted to the required governmental bodies or agencies for further investigation. CIP-2 deals with cyber security and the identification of critical cyber assets; these assets along with the risk to which they are exposed to are identified so that appropriate measures can be taken in the long run.
CIP-3 deals with security management while CIP-4 deals with personnel and training, another important part of the entire security system. Appropriate training should be given to all personnel involved in handling the smart grid and distribution automation system and made aware of the various lurking dangers. The CIP-5 and 6 deal with setting up both electronic and physical security parameters for the critical cyber assets. Security management of the computer systems comprises of CIP-7 while incident reporting and response plans makes up CIP-8. CIP-9 ensures that recover plans are operational for all cyber assets in the event of any attack so that the entire system does not get shut down.
The NERC CIP compliance standards are mandatory for every power sector and have to be adhered to strictly. Failure to adhere to these reliability standards will result in heavy fines for the electric utility company. This ensures that the distribution automation system and its cyber assets are continually protected at all times from cyber warfare.
