NERC Cyber Security Standards report

Why it matters

CIPC coordinates NERC's security initiatives. The group is comprised of industry experts in the areas of cyber security, physical security, and operational security. CIPC reports to NERC's Board of Trustees. It is governed by an Executive Committee, whose members manage CIPC policy matters and provide support to CIPC's subcommittees and their working groups and task forces. The Cyber Security Standards strive to ensure that all entities responsible for the reliability of the Bulk Electric Systems in North America identify and protect Critical Cyber Assets that control or could impact the reliability of the Bulk Electric Systems.

NERC Standards CIP-002-2 through CIP-009-2 provide a cyber security framework for the identification and protection of Critical Cyber Assets to support reliable operation of the Bulk Electric System. These standards recognize the differing roles of each entity in the operation of the Bulk Electric System, the criticality and vulnerability of the assets needed to manage Bulk Electric System reliability, and the risks to which they are exposed. Business and operational demands for managing and maintaining a reliable Bulk Electric System increasingly rely on Cyber Assets supporting critical reliability functions and processes to communicate with each other, across functions and organizations, for services and data. This results in increased risks to these Cyber Assets.