From: jconline.com
Written by Justin L. Mack
For the average resident, a blackout is typically a short-term inconvenience.
But what happens when a cyberattack or natural disaster leaves millions of citizens without power for weeks or months on end?
That’s the question federal government and electric utility employees hope to answer during GridEx II — a two-day security exercise that simulates a nationwide collapse of the electric grid due to cyberterror or other attacks.
The exercise is designed to assess the readiness of the electricity sector, strengthen utilities’ crisis response functions and provide input for internal security program improvements.
“To put it simply, it’s important because if the grid gets attacked and stops working, people lose power. If people lose power they lose heat, the ability to provide important services, they lose banking … they lose more than just the day-to-day comforts,” said Marcus Rogers, a Purdue University professor of computer and information technology and director of the Purdue Cyber Forensics Lab. “They’re running the simulation to try and get an idea of how secure it really is.”
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