Security News > 2021 > April > US Takes Steps to Protect Electric System From Cyberattacks
The Biden administration is taking steps to protect the country's electric system from cyberattacks through a new 100-day initiative combining federal government agencies and the private industry.
The initiative, announced Tuesday by the Energy Department, encourages owners and operators of power plants and electric utilities to improve their capabilities for identifying cyber threats to their networks.
The department is also soliciting input from electric utilities, energy companies, government agencies and others for recommendations about how to safeguard the energy system supply chain.
The effort, which besides the electricity industry also involves the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, underscores the heightened concern about the prospects for cyberattacks that disrupt the power supply.
Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month that the administration was undertaking a new effort to help electric utilities, water districts and other critical industries protect against potentially damaging cyberattacks.
The report recommended that the Energy Department, the primary federal agency for the energy sector, do more to address those risks.