Cyber attacks from a wide variety of sources, ranging from independent and organized criminals, to state-sponsored have progressively increased. There have been cyber attacks on networks that run critical functions throughout the world. Cyber attacks and security breaches cost the economy billions of dollars and they may cause downtime and risk stoppage of vital services blocked by catastrophic system failure from weakened, critical infrastructure.
The United States, Canada, and the world at large has shifted the control of critical processes in electricity, oil
production, water, manufacturing, and communications to networked computers. These systems, known in industry as either process control systems or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, are now responsible for the uninterrupted operation of services that we consider essential for our way of life.
Collaborating on Cyber Security with regional Stakeholders
Emerald Down Functional Exercise
The purpose of the exercise was to examine current cyber-event preparedness and management capabilities with focus on response planning and recovery mitigation; including roles and responsibilities for public sector entities; public, private and non-profit sector interdependencies and collaboration; responding within regulatory requirements; and utilizing current communication capabilities to identify areas for improvement that can strengthen cyber security resilience.
Cyber Security Seminar
The purpose of the seminar was to share information between members of the private, non-profit and public sectors on cyber security issues associated with critical infrastructure and to build relationships between stakeholders. The Seminar was held June 2010 in Seattle, WA.
SCADA Seminar
PNWER invited Idaho National Labs to provide a SCADA Awareness training seminar for Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators. Regional Stakeholders received a unique opportunity to learn about threats and methods deployed by Nation State actors, Terrorists and Criminals.