New Partners Join Charter of Trust to Protect Critical Infrastructure

March 8, 2018

The AES Corporation, Atos and Enel join coalition
Charter of Trust outlines ten pathways for action around
cybersecurity
Digital transformation requires secured data and connected systems
for energy systems and critical infrastructure

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Siemens, and the eight founding Charter of Trust members, today welcomed
The AES Corporation, Atos and Enel to its global cybersecurity
initiative at the 2018 CERAWeek® conference in Houston, TX.
With America’s energy hub as its backdrop, cybersecurity is a leading
topic of conversation at the conference, as energy is the most attacked
segment within U.S. critical infrastructure.

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that America’s
electricity infrastructure was in “imminent danger” from cyberattacks
that are “growing more frequent and sophisticated.” And, according to a
recent report from the Council of Economic Advisors, malicious cyber
activity against government and industry cost the U.S. economy between
$57 billion and $109 billion in 2016 – approximately one-half of U.S.
GDP.

The Charter of Trust represents an unprecedented cybersecurity
initiative that establishes three primary goals: to protect the data of
individuals and businesses; to prevent harm to people, businesses, and
infrastructure; and to establish a reliable basis where confidence in a
networked, digital world can take root and grow.

The Charter of Trust was announced at the Munich Security Conference
(MSC) in February, and signed by a group of founding companies,
including Airbus, Allianz, Daimler Group, IBM, MSC, NXP, SGS and
Deutsche Telekom, who called for binding rules and standards to ensure
greater digital security and integrity in both the public and private
sectors.

“Cybersecurity is the most important security issue of our time,” said
Joe Kaeser, CEO, Siemens AG. “Siemens is working with key partners in
industry, government and society to promote the Charter of Trust to make
our digital world more secure. The transformational opportunities that
exist for society and industry can only be realized if we all have
confidence in, and can rely on the security of our data and connected
systems.”

As the number of cyberattacks worldwide continues to grow, the hardware
and software that control critical infrastructure like electricity and
gas have become high-value targets. A study of the U.S. oil and gas
industry by Ponemon Institute found that operational technology (OT)
cyberattacks now comprise 30 percent of all attacks in the U.S. oil and
gas industry.

“Protecting our nation’s energy infrastructure is critical to
maintaining so much of the American way of life,” said Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “It is
great to see companies coming together to build trust and strengthen
collaborative efforts to protect critical assets in our nation and
around the world. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility that requires
partners at all levels of government and the private sector to address
threats and sharpen responses to cyberattacks.”

The new Charter of Trust members include The AES Corporation, a Fortune
200 global power company providing energy distribution and generation in
15 countries; Atos, a global leader in digital transformation operating
in 72 countries and supporting clients across various business sectors,
including energy and utilities; and Enel, Europe’s largest power company
for market capitalization, operating in more than 30 countries across
five continents.

The Charter outlines ten principles to ensure companies and governments
are taking action to address cybersecurity at the highest levels through
a dedicated cybersecurity ministry in government and a chief information
security officer at companies. It calls for mandatory, independent
certification for critical infrastructure where lives are at risk,
including in the oil and gas, and power generation and distribution
industries, and digital applications across all aspects of IoT. It also
affirms that as technologies become increasingly digital and connected,
security and data privacy functions should be preconfigured and that
cybersecurity regulations should be incorporated into free trade
treaties. The Charter’s signatories are also looking for greater efforts
to encourage cybersecurity in vocational training and in international
initiatives.

Comments from Andrés Gluski, President and CEO, The AES Corporation

“AES’ mission is to improve lives by providing safe, reliable and
sustainable energy solutions. Our continued success depends on adapting
to change, including utilizing new technologies. A successful
cyberattack would impact our ability to deliver electricity and a data
breach could negatively affect our employees, customers and partners.”

Comments from Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO, Atos

“Atos is fully engaged in the digitalization of all areas of the
economy. Cybersecurity is a crucial component and enabler for this
transition. Working hand in hand with Siemens we have jointly developed
digital solutions such as best-in-class security operating center and
identity and access management for extended enterprise and IoT, or
prescriptive security analytics based on artificial intelligence. I
fully endorse the initiative of the global Charter of Trust for greater
cybersecurity and its ten key principles. I am glad to join as a
signatory of this Charter, a great foundation upon which we can build to
spread digitalization and create value for our customers and partners.”

Comments from Yuri Rassega, Enel Group Chief Information Security
Officer

“Cooperation is key to effectively prevent and manage cyber risks. In
today’s world, technology is becoming increasingly disruptive, making
the cyber threats we face all the more frequent and sophisticated. In
past years Enel has been working to adopt a systemic vision that takes
into account both business drivers and IT/OT/IoT systems-specific
protection objectives, defines a risk-based strategy and drives a “cyber
security by design” model, boosting the resilience of infrastructure and
applications to face cyber threats and risks. With the signing of the
Charter of Trust for a Secure Digital World, we are formalizing our
commitment to an increasingly coordinated approach to cyber security by
merging info and real-time data sharing.”

The Charter of Trust and further information are available under: www.siemens.com/press/charter-of-trust

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse
that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality,
reliability and internationality for 170 years. The company is active
around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation
and digitalization. One of the world's largest producers of
energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading
supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions
and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive
and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading
provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and
magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory
diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2017, which ended on
September 30, 2017, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net
income of €6.2 billion. At the end of September 2017, the company had
around 377,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on
the Internet at www.siemens.com.