Stimulus Grants Left Power Grid Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks

According to a report from the Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Energy’s rush to award stimulus grants for projects under the next generation of the power grid, i.d. Smart Grid, “resulted in some firms receiving funds without submitting complete plans for how to safeguard the grid from cyber attacks.” “Officials approved cyber security plans for Smart Grid projects even though some of the plans contained shortcomings that could result in poorly implemented controls,” states the report. “We also found that the Department was focused on quickly disbursig Recovery Act funds that it had not ensured personnel received adequate grants management training.” According to the report, which can be found at http://energy.gov/sites/prod/filed/OAS-RA-12-04.pfd, 36% of the grant applications submitted were lacking one or more elements in their cybersecurity plans. The Energy Department generally concurred with the report’s recommendations, but noted “that there are currently no federal or state standards or regulations that mandate cyber security processes or practices for electric distribution systems.”