Connecticut now has a cybersecurity plan for its utilities to help stave off threats that include cyberattacks.
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Chairman Arthur House said, “Attempts to disrupt public utility services are growing in frequency, scale and sophistication.”
State Senator Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, Energy & Technology Committee chairman, reported the release of the plan.
“Connecticut”™s families and businesses depend upon reliable utility service for their well-being and their livelihood,” Duff said. “Whether a threat comes from severe weather or a cyberattack, we need to be prepared for emergencies so that outages can be avoided and service restored as quickly as possible.”
The report was initiated as part of the state”™s 2013 Comprehensive Energy Strategy, which called on the utilities authority to work with state agencies to review Connecticut”™s electricity, natural gas and water companies to assess their capabilities to deter interruption of service and recommend actions strengthening deterrence.
Officials commended the authority, Northeast Utilities and United Illuminating, Connecticut”™s municipal electric companies and two major water companies, Aquarion and Connecticut Water, along with the telecommunications industry for working together to produce the plan.
“Fulfilling the promise of a more reliable energy future requires us to look beyond the foreseeable weather threats we know well in Connecticut to defend against possible future threats, such as a cyberattack on our public utilities,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy. “Just as we are taking proactive steps to harden our critical infrastructure and the shoreline to defend against severe weather events, so too must we be prepared to defend against the potential disruption that cyber intrusions can cause to vital services such as energy, water and telecommunications.”
