In today’s technologically advanced environment, the substations, generation centers, compressor stations, pumping sites, and control rooms that are responsible for our nation’s critical infrastructure systems may be connected to the internet and vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hacking organizations around the world have already proven they can turn off the electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes by remotely accessing and changing the command settings of operational technology.

Many of these systems were designed and deployed for different threats than the ones emerging today. Adversaries are also flexible and capable of changing their tactics swiftly. Risk management practices for cybersecurity must keep pace with these changing conditions. With expensive price tags, long production lead times and lifespans that last several decades, replacing existing equipment is a difficult and costly endeavor.

To reduce the consequences of cyberphysical attacks, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER), in collaboration Idaho National Laboratory (INL), developed the CyberStrike™ training program. This program works to enhance the ability of energy sector owners and operators to prepare for a cyber incident impacting operational technology.