Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System (2012) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Vulnerabilities Related to the People Who Run the Electric Power System
5 Vulnerabilities Related to the People Who Run the Electric Power System
Pages 48-54
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 48... ...
a more subtle and troublesome concern is the possibility that It is obviously important to ensure that employees, con- contractor personnel who were charged with maintaining tractors, and others who have access to critical physical assets and updating critical software and intent on doing damage and information systems are carefully and regularly screened might insert "Trojan horses" or other destructive computer for reliability. But, as with the other issues addressed in this programs that could later become activated and wreak havoc report, it is also important to understand the broader context in control systems at some future time.
|
From page 49... ...
While much has been The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently done by industry in the security training area, better and studied about 100 North American power outages that more frequent simulation and red-teaming security exercises occurred in recent years and concluded that 12 of them were will improve the readiness of security personnel.1 Dramatic attributable to human error, either by operators in control improvements in personnel readiness can result from intro- rooms or by maintenance workers in the field (EPRI, 2000)
|
From page 50... ...
that operate in the background, handling routine The proliferating new technology for multimedia tasks and informing the operators in accordance with some user interfaces, and for virtual reality in particular, protocol that establishes the level of their delegated author- needs to be evaluated and fitted into this context of ity to act independently. In this arrangement, the operator human performance.
|
From page 51... ...
The electric utility industry has not demonstrated unsustainable and unhealthy increase in the average age of either of these characteristics over the last two decades. power industry employees over the next 10 years.
|
From page 52... ...
Many of the will need increasingly more eclectic workers with skills to employees of consulting and engineering service companies address digitization and the complexity of electronics, com- are older and are therefore not a solution to the manpower munications, computers, and highly integrated systems; the needs 10 years hence. Furthermore, the majority of the expeintegration and operation of renewable energy sources; the rienced employees of these firms were trained in the electric operation of sophisticated chemical processes for providing utility industry as utility employees before joining service clean coal and for controlling other pollutants and carbon providers.
|
From page 53... ...
Those plans that cross-train people to perform multiple critical business funcaddress high absentee levels are an important tool to ensure tions, include a crisis health and sanitation plan, provide for that critical business activities are sustainable in the event advance employee training, and include a communication of various possible extreme situations, including health and information dissemination plan. emergencies.
|
From page 54... ...
Such ing security and other challenges as a result of more plans should create a leadership succession process, rapid churning of employees in utilities and among cross-train people to perform multiple critical busi contactors. This change is resulting from workforce ness functions, include a crisis health and sanitation aging, the attrition of skilled workers, the loss of plan, provide for advance employee training, and core competencies and institutional knowledge, and include an internal and an external communication competition for the declining supply of electrical and information dissemination plan.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.