The electric power grid has emerged as one of the most critical elements of our nation's critical infrastructure, and efforts to create an interoperable Smart Grid with two-way communications and power flow are highlighting the need for security.
However, there also is a need for more critical thinking about the grid's vulnerability, according to at least one expert. It might not be as fragile as it appears. Terry Michalske, director of energy and security systems at Sandia National Laboratories, expressed the conventional wisdom at a recent conference on cybersecurity policy hosted in Washington by the Stevens Institute of Technology. "There is probably no better way to cut the legs out from under a modern society than by interrupting the power grid," Michalske said. As an example, he noted that Hurricane Rita, in 2005, shut down 20 percent of the nation's oil refining capability -- not by damaging the refineries, but by causing widespread power outages. Martin Libicki of the Rand Corp. agreed on the grid's significance. "It's fairly clear that the electric power sector would be a most critical target for attackers," he said. But Libicki, the author of "Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar," added that "the power sector may be a tough nut to crack," for four reasons.
