Many Utilities Believe Cyberattacks Could Bring Down the Electric Distribution Grid in the Next Five Years, Accenture Research Finds

Coupled with anticipated risk to employee and customer safety and
physical assets, unprepared distribution utilities must act now to
improve cybersecurity capabilities

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of utility executives believe their
country faces at least a moderate risk of electricity supply
interruption from a cyberattack on electric distribution grids in the
next five years. This figure, included in Accenture’s (NYSE:ACN) new
report, Outsmarting
Grid Security Threats, part of the Digitally Enabled Grid research
program, rises to 76 percent for North American utilities executives.

The survey of more than 100 utilities executives from over 20 countries
revealed interruptions to the power supply from cyberattacks is the most
serious concern, cited by 57 percent of respondents. Just as worrying is
the physical threat to the distribution grid. Fifty-three percent of
executives cite employee and/or customer safety and 43 percent of
executives cite the destruction of physical assets as their biggest
concerns.

“As highly sophisticated, weaponized malware is being developed, a
greater risk to distribution businesses arises from cyber criminals and
others who would use it for malicious purposes,” said Stephanie Jamison,
managing director, Accenture Transmission and Distribution. “Attacks on
industrial control systems could disrupt grid reliability and the safety
and well-being of employees and the public. Not getting it right could
be a brand killer, as well as a real threat for a country and the
community.”

While the increased connectivity of industrial control systems enabled
by the smart grid will drive significant benefits in the form of safety,
productivity, improved quality of service and operational efficiency, 88
percent agreed that cybersecurity is a major concern in smart grid
deployment. Distribution utilities are also increasingly exposed by the
growth of connected Internet of Things (IoT) domestic devices, such as
connected home hubs and smart appliances. These bring a new risk to
distribution companies, which is hard to quantify, with 77 percent of
utilities executives suggesting IoT as a potential threat to
cybersecurity.

In Asia Pacific and Europe, cyber criminals are seen as the biggest risk
for distribution businesses by almost a third of respondents. However,
in North America, attacks by governments are considered a bigger risk
than in regions worldwide (32 percent).

“Deployment of the smart grid could open new attack vectors if
cybersecurity is not a core component of the design,” added Jamison.
“However, the smart grid can also bring sophisticated protection to
assets that were previously vulnerable through improved situational
awareness and control of the grid.”

Utilities must improve cybersecurity capabilities and develop a
resilient delivery system

A significant number of distribution utilities have much to do in
developing a robust cyber response capability with more than four in 10
respondents claiming cybersecurity risks were not, or were only
partially integrated, into their broader risk management processes.

In addition, the increasing convergence of physical and cyber threats
requires the development of capabilities that go well beyond simple
security-related national compliance requirements. Utilities must invest
in resilience of their smart grid as well as effective response and
recovery capabilities.

Proper protection is challenging due to the complexity of distribution
electric grids and increasingly sophisticated, well-funded attackers,
and many distribution utilities are still under-protected and
under-prepared. Only 6 percent felt extremely well-prepared and 48
percent well-prepared, when it came to restoring normal grid operations
following a cyberattack.

“Cybersecurity must become a core competency in the industry by
protecting the entire value chain and the extended ecosystem end-to-end.
Utilities, already well-versed in reliable power delivery and power
restoration, need an agile and swift capability that creates and
leverages situational awareness, and that can quickly react and
intervene to protect the grid,” said Jim Guinn, managing director who
leads Accenture’s security practice for resources industries.
“Developing this new capability will require ongoing innovation, a
practical approach to scaling, and collaboration with partners to drive
the most value.”

Moves to build and scale cyber defense

While there is no single path forward, there are some moves any
distribution business should consider to strengthen resilience and
response to cyberattack, such as:

• Integrate resilience into asset and process design, including cyber
  and physical security,
• Share intelligence and information as a critical activity that could
  help create situational awareness of the latest threat landscape and
  how to prepare accordingly, and,
• Develop security and emergency management governance models.

For more information on how distribution utilities can effectively
manage cybersecurity, access Accenture’s new report Outsmarting
Grid Security Threats.

Methodology

Accenture’s annual Digitally
Enabled Grid research program evaluates the implications and
opportunities of an increasingly digital grid. The 2017 research
included interviews with more than 100 utility executives from over 20
countries. The executives interviewed were those involved in the
decision-making process for smart grid-related matters. The countries
represented included Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany,
Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United
Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network –
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With more than 425,000 people serving clients in more than
120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world
works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Accenture Security helps organizations build resilience from the inside
out, so they can confidently focus on innovation and growth. Leveraging
its global network of cybersecurity labs, deep industry understanding
across client value chains and services that span the security
lifecycle, Accenture protects organizations’ valuable assets,
end-to-end. With services that include strategy and risk management,
cyber defense, digital identity, application security and managed
security, Accenture enables businesses around the world to defend
against known sophisticated threats, and the unknown. Follow us
@AccentureSecure on Twitter or visit us at www.accenture.com/security.

Contacts

Accenture
Guy Cantwell, 281-900-9089
[email protected]
or
Matt
Corser, +44 755 784 9009
[email protected]