The research took the form of a survey conducted amongst senior professionals at US utility companies, as well as interviews conducted at industry event Distributech 2023. According to a statement, more than 250 respondents were asked about potential changes to the utility industry, including developments in relation to IoT.
Discussing the findings, a spokesperson for the organisation said: “Energy security is seen as ‘very exciting’ for 79 per cent of respondents, more so than the development of smart buildings and infrastructure [75 per cent], weather and climate [73 per cent] and disaster management [69 per cent]. This is at a time when concerns are high among policy makers and industry leaders because of major economic and geopolitical turmoil putting energy supplies at risk.”
The spokesperson continued: “The energy sector is also facing a growing number of cyberattacks, with recent [incidents] aimed at ageing SCADA systems. [An] increasingly interconnected energy infrastructure is opening up opportunities for attackers to access systems and disrupt operations.”
Global director of utility solutions at Wi-SUN member Cisco, Jeffrey Tufts, said: “Energy security and particularly cybersecurity is what we are being asked about most right now. The need to secure energy infrastructure has never been more important and will be an area of significant investment – in terms of pilots and adoption – over the next year or two.”
Jeff Scheb, director of product management at Landis+Gyr said: “The global rise in cyberattacks means that everything is under scrutiny. As systems become more connected and automated, ensuring security across all network connection points is the first priority during design and implementation.”
