To ensure energy systems of the future continue to be resilient to evolving threats, it is important we develop increasingly secure control systems. Working with vendors, the goal is to innovate and develop efficient, deliverable, and secure protection and control systems capable of mitigating advanced cyber threats using secure by design practices. Lessons learned from this innovation project will enable National Grid to make decisions on the proportionality and appropriateness of security controls for both new and existing sites. This must be achieved while still maintaining the current user experience and meeting control/protection functionality specifications, all in a system designed to match the lifecycle of current systems of approximately 20 years. 

Benefits

• Reduced security response & recovery times to substation cyber attacks, improve segregation of substation networks & improve effectiveness of attack detection capabilities.
• Demonstrate the proportionately of each proposed security control’s lifetime cost & impact on normal operation (if any.)
• Provide direct line of sight between new security control, risk and requirement & the evidence needed to justify change in cost to the regulator.
• Validate multiple vendor claims on new product lines while bringing them on the journey. Avoid vendor lock-in by testing multiple options.