According to the Microsoft Digital Protection Report of 2023, the threat landscape saw a concerning trend in which vital infrastructure continued to be a prime target for cyberattacks, experiencing a significant surge since the previous year.1 The intricate connections between the ability to conduct business internationally and global trade create a delicate balance, rendering both infrastructures vulnerable. Without reliable access to energy, we are unable to power hospitals, warm homes, open schools, or produce food. The provision of energy is the lifeblood of the global economy, with its reliability and consistency determining our collective resilience.
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Rising demand drives a need to reimagine workplace safety.
Chief Information Security Officers at energy companies are intimately familiar with this reality. They are entrusted with overseeing a sophisticated portfolio while proactively countering cyber threats from both internal and nation-state sources. Remaining unaddressed, these hurdles generate a wave of consequences that permeate the organization, manifesting as:
- As the digital landscape continues to shape consumer behavior, coupled with the rise of decentralized energy solutions and shifting labor dynamics, utility providers are compelled to adapt by fostering greater flexibility and fortifying their grid infrastructure? According to a recent survey conducted by Guidehouse and Public Utilities Fortnightly, a majority (61%) of respondents believe that increasing flexibility in the power system to boost resilience should be the top priority for utility investments at present.2
- Energy companies often struggle with disparate administrative tools that are costly to manage and lack visibility across systems. These instruments should be integrated into systems and regularly serviced by teams possessing the requisite expertise. As companies adapt to evolving instrument suites and shifting team compositions, they must confront the inherent costs of upskilling and integrating their workforce.
- While many utilities actively support the shift towards a more sustainable energy mix and invest in the grid’s long-term resilience, they still heavily rely on outdated infrastructure that harbours significant technical debt. Legacy systems pose a double-edged threat, exacerbating both cybersecurity vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies through extended support costs, lengthy timelines, and integration complexities that hinder effective management. Firms often incur an additional expense of 10 to 20% when addressing technical debt, in addition to their original project costs.3
As the landscape of technology continues to shift, modernizing infrastructure proves costly and inflexible, unable to adapt seamlessly to emerging trends. Accordingly, nearly six in ten cybersecurity teams identify the integration of legacy operational technology (OT) and modern information technology (IT) systems as their primary challenge in securing OT, with a staggering 59% citing this issue as their most pressing concern.4 As a CISO, how do you mitigate the risk of securing both IT and OT systems against modern and ever-evolving cyber threats?
Partnering with know-how companions who comprehensively recognize global threat actors, as well as the corresponding enterprise risks and operational implications across industries?
Enhancing Safety and Efficiency without Compromising Value
With a unified safety stack operational across all utilities, organizations can significantly reduce the number of tools they manage daily, leading to lower costs, time savings, and enhanced insight into both IT and OT environments.
Turkish power supplier Enerjisa Üretim has teamed up with Senkron.Vitality Digital Companies to establish a cutting-edge, distant operations centre – a crucial milestone in its transition to a cloud-native infrastructure. Realising that a single cyber threat could potentially shut down operations, Enerjisa Üretim took proactive measures by establishing an Operational Knowledge-Personal Security Operations Centre (OT SOC), which leverages Microsoft Defender for IoT and Microsoft Sentinel to continuously monitor 3.3 million security events daily across the clock.
The importance of a structured framework for asset operations and upkeep is another instance. Microsoft Azure’s robust infrastructure combines excessive efficiency and ultra-low latency, forming a foundation for secure analytics that fortify operational resilience and reliability through its multi-layered safety features. With advanced security protocols in place, utility providers are empowered to effortlessly adapt to diverse workload demands without compromising the integrity of their operational processes.
Safety measures to meet your needs?
With cutting-edge technologies at their disposal, clients can tap into our expertise in leveraging innovative solutions to bolster their security stance immediately. Provides comprehensive, real-time monitoring of all assets across distributors and protocols, ensuring the secure management of information throughout your entire portfolio while reducing risk and meeting regulatory requirements by detecting previously unknown threats and minimizing false positives through advanced business-grade intelligence.
Microsoft’s safety features offer enhancements during key usage scenarios, including:
- Microsoft’s advanced security options enable Security Operations Centers (SOCs) to harness cloud-native capabilities, expediting the identification and mitigation of threats by allowing for automated total response to security incidents. With machine learning, AI, and advanced analytics handling the complex tasks, Security Operations Center (SOC) personnel can now focus on high-priority incidents and swiftly identify what’s occurring in their environment. Our comprehensive safety platform streamlines operations in Security Operations Centers (SOCs), integrating intuitive features to provide unparalleled visibility and efficiency through harmonious collaboration. Options resembling advanced threat intelligence and enhanced collaboration features enable SOC analysts to expand their capabilities, thereby more effectively supporting their critical mission.
- Microsoft’s safety features offer scalable and cost-effective automated backup processes, seamlessly integrated with on-premise data security solutions. Options encompass encryption and multi-factor authentication, safeguarding data during the backup and recovery process, thereby maintaining sensitive information secure throughout its entire lifecycle. This holistic approach enables utility companies to rapidly recover from data loss incidents, thereby minimising downtime and ensuring seamless business continuity.
Strengthening the Power Buyer and Companion Ecosystem for a Secure Tomorrow
To foster ongoing innovation in information security and accelerate cloud adoption, we partnered with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office to develop a strategic initiative focused on seamlessly integrating cloud technology into the future grid infrastructure. During its pilot phase, Cirrus offers guidance on responsible deployment strategies for cloud-based solutions, ultimately aiming to enhance the robustness and long-term flexibility of a decarbonized power grid.
Developed on the foundation of Azure’s safety and reliability, the Cirrus network model is also accessible via unbiased platforms through a licensed framework. The device provides valuable insights to integrators, stakeholders, and operators by illuminating clear objectives, outlining future plans, and identifying tolerance for risk.
Cirrus delivers actionable insights with intuitive visualizations, such as KPI graphs and consequence diagrams, empowering customers to make informed decisions about prioritizing critical initiatives and data, considering the potential benefits and risks associated with cloud outages. Furthermore, Cirrus integrates advanced risk detection and alert systems, utilizing Cyber-Informed Engineering principles to enable organisations to make informed decisions about managing and mitigating potential risks, thereby empowering them to effectively respond to and recover from high-impact events.
As AI technologies continue to advance at a breakneck pace, industry insiders are abuzz about potential game-changers on the near-horizon. One area ripe for disruption is customer service, where AI-driven chatbots could seamlessly augment or even replace human reps.
The era of profound transformation has dawned on the energy sector, as AI ushers in a new landscape of boundless opportunities for power companies to bolster their safety profiles.
Consider arming your workforce with the tools necessary to help them identify potential risks earlier, develop their threat mitigation skills, and respond to crises more swiftly? Tasks that previously consumed hours or even days to complete are now achievable in mere minutes, thanks to the transformative power of artificial intelligence. The effectiveness far surpasses labor costs. As every passing minute gives attackers additional opportunities to cause chaos across the board.
As AI technology processes trillions of daily safety alerts, our collective efforts enable the creation of a more robust and resilient digital energy infrastructure.
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Able to dive deeper? Join us for a thought-provoking webinar on October 10, 2024, as we explore how leading power companies are leveraging cutting-edge technology to fortify their operations and secure their futures. Discover the latest insights on the topic and register now for the upcoming webinar.
1 , October 2023.
2 , Guidehouse, July 2024.
3 , McKinsey & Firm, April 2023.
4 The Global Economic Outlook Forum, October 2023.
As Global Leader of Go-to-Market Strategy and Operations in Microsoft’s Vitality and Asset segment, Hanna Greene oversees a team responsible for powering each industry vertical, fostering strategic partnerships, and driving local enablement efforts. She has diligently collaborated with governments and leading global companies to expedite the development of a reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly energy infrastructure.
Mikhail Falkovich serves as a Buyer Safety Officer at Microsoft, bringing over two decades of experience from the utilities industry to his role. As a seasoned cybersecurity expert, he served as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Con Edison, where he safeguarded the city’s critical energy, fuel, and steam programs, along with buyer and firm information, leveraging his extensive knowledge in vital infrastructure security, operational technology safety, community structures, and collective protection.
