Cybersecurity Standards In The Utility Industry: Mandatory Or Voluntary?

 " Electric Grid Vulnerability: Industry Responses Reveal Security Gaps," by the staffs of U.S. Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Henry Waxman (D-Cal.), resulted from a survey of more than 100 utilities. The report and the contemporaneous House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on "Cyber Threats and Security Solutions" are indicators of the level of legislative and regulatory attention to these issues. The report's findings included:

• Attacks on critical infrastructure, including energy, are up 68 percent from 2011 levels
• Many utilities reported "daily," "constant," or "frequent" attempted cyber attacks ranging from phishing to malware infection to unfriendly probes
• The rate of cyber attacks against American corporate and government infrastructure is on the rise and unlikely to abate