Watchdog warns Energy Department failing to protect grid

A report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Department of Energy (DOE) has not done enough to protect the electrical grid against increasing cyber attack attempts, the same day a Senate committee approved legislation intended to bolster DOE’s work on grid security.

GAO wrote in the report, originally finalized in August, that “the nation’s electric grid is becoming more vulnerable to cyberattacks — particularly those involving industrial control systems that support grid operations. Recent federal assessments indicate that cyberattacks could cause widespread power outages in the United States, but the scale of such outages is uncertain.”

GAO emphasized that DOE “plays a key role in helping address cybersecurity risks in each component of the electric grid’s infrastructure. However, DOE has not developed plans for electric grid cybersecurity that address the key characteristics needed for a national strategy.”

The report also found that while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which regulates the flow of electricity between states, has approved mandatory grid cybersecurity standards, these do not fully encompass current federal guidance on grid cybersecurity.

GAO noted that actors with the capabilities to interfere with the U.S. grid include foreign nations, criminal groups and terrorist organizations.

Recommendations: GAO recommended that DOE coordinate with other relevant federal agencies to develop a plan to implement a federal cybersecurity strategy for the electric grid.

The report included a response from Karen Evans, the assistant secretary of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. Evans wrote that she “concurs” with GAO’s recommendation on the creation of a federal cybersecurity strategy and noted that “DOE’s current actions meet the intent of GAO’s recommendation.”