GridSecCon a huge success with Ransomware and Operational Technology vulnerabilities taking center stage

Summary:

Manny Cancel, NERC senior vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the E-ISAC, opened the conference by acknowledging the volume, complexity, and velocity of cyber and physical security threats impacting the electricity industry. He noted that the E-ISAC has seen a nearly nine-fold increase in ransomware shares via the E-ISAC’s secure portal, indicating extraordinary escalation in a threat that has the capability to severely impact grid reliability. “From supply chain compromises to operational technology vulnerabilities, this trend shows no sign of subsiding,” Cancel told participants. “Despite unprecedented new risks from aggressive nation-state threat actors, persistent domestic civil unrest, extreme weather, and evolving pandemic conditions, the E-ISAC team has kept its focus, allowing industry to maintain the level of situational awareness required to mitigate their exposure to these threats.”

Additional Discussion:

A record number of attendees participated in the 10th annual security conference, GridSecCon, which took place October 19-20. More than 850 security experts from across North America attended the two-day conference to discuss the current grid security environment and the future of cyber and physical security. Hosted by NERC, the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), and the Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. (Texas RE), the conference focused on the most current compromises and emphasized the programs necessary to protect the grid from constantly changing cyber and physical security threats.

Associated Files:

GridSecCon 20OCT21 Final

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