Are War Games The Way To Protect The Grid?

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The 13 November attacks on Paris have demonstrated that Western countries are not secure against the terrorist threat. One possibility keeping many awake at night is that of an attack on national infrastructure, including the electrical grid. A successful attack on such critical infrastructure could leave whole regions paralysed and in chaos.

On 18-19 November, just days after the Paris attack, in a curious coincidence, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) conducted a large-scale simulation of such an attack, on both the physical and cyber levels. The exercise simulated massive attacks on the power grids of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, that would leave millions without electricity for extended periods of time.

While the exercise was pre-planned, the Paris attacks increased awareness of the possible threat to the power grid and other infrastructure, says Gerry Cauley, president and CEO of NERC.

Cyber or physical attacks on the American power grid happen on average every four days. While most are foiled or cause no significant damage, the events in Paris remind us once again that even one successful attack could have catastrophic consequences.

“In general, we are never satisfied with our current state,” says Tom Fanning,head of Southern Company. “We know that as the threat changes, we’ve got to get better, even if we believe we’re pretty good right now.”

This was the third simulation conducted by NERC on its mission to improve the security of the grid. Over 350 government agencies and utilities participated in the GridEx III exercise.