Citation[]
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cybersecurity Framework Smart Grid Profile (NIST Technical Note 2051) (July 2019) (full-text).
Overview[]
The U.S. electric power grid is undergoing modernization to make the grid “smart.” The smart grid utilizes intelligent and distributed technologies to make the power grid more reliable and resilient to disruptions. While there are clear benefits to this evolution, the modernization effort is not easy. Power system owners/operators will face numerous challenges as they strive to modernize their own capabilities, while also interfacing and co-existing with other power system owners/operators at different stages of the modernization process. Along with the benefits of the smart grid, there are cybersecurity risks that need to be considered to ensure a safe, effective grid transformation.
The Smart Grid Profile applies risk management strategies from the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity to the smart grid and will serve as a foundation for refinements to support new grid architectures. The Profile provides cybersecurity risk management guidance to power system owners/operators by prioritizing cybersecurity activities based on their effectiveness in helping power system owners/operators achieve common high-level business objectives for the smart grid. These high-level business objectives are:
- Maintain safety
- Maintain power system reliability
- Maintain power system resilience
- Support grid modernization
The Profile also provides power system owners/operators with considerations relevant to the challenges they may experience as they implement these cybersecurity activities in infrastructures with high concentrations of distributed energy resources (DERs).