CSAI Emphasises Importance of Cyber Security in Power Sector

Cyber Security Association of India (www.ncsai.in) under the chairmanship of Lt Gen (Dr.) Rajesh Pant, Former National Cyber Security Coordinator organised Power Sector Cyber Security Conference – 2023 to address the issues comprehensively from all six verticals of the power sector and prepare an actionable document to cyber defend this most critical infra structure. The event was conducted with the approval of the Power Ministry and directly supported by Central Electricity Authority as the regulator. 

The conference was inaugurated by Lt Gen MU Nair, National Cyber Security Coordinator and Sh. Navin Kumar Singh, Director General National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and addressed by Sh. Amit Sharma, Additional Director General & Advisor DRDO, Sh. S. R. Narasimhan, CMD, Grid Controller of India Ltd, Dr. Tripta Thakur, Director General, NPTI and Prof. NK Goyal, Chairman, TEMA/CMAI & President CSAI.

The Conference stressed that the Power Sector is absolutely vital for the Country and therefore it is also termed as Super Critical Information Infrastructure. Power Sector has been the most lucrative target in all countries during breakout of hostilities - recent example being of Russia - Ukraine war.

In the wake of the Black Energy APT, Industroyer 2.0 and chain of cyber incidents, the cyber defense paradigm in the global power sector need to undergo a profound transformation. The evolving landscape demands a collective commitment to safeguarding critical infrastructure, as Nations recognize the inherent vulnerability of their power grids in an increasingly interconnected and digitally reliant world.  The cyber-attacks on Ukraine, USA, Denmark and India power networks are the warning signals of things to come. 

The conference was addressed by CISO- MoP CEA representative and Sh. K. Muralikrishna from GRID-India for Grid Operations, Sh. Anand Shankar from POWERGRID for transmission, Sh. Sandeep Puri from NHCP for Hydro power generation, Sh. Akshaya Kumar Patel from NTPC for Thermal Power generation and Sh. AK Sinha from SECI for renewable energy provided sectoral brief. DRDO, defence, academia cyber lawyer, compliance professionals and industry representatives had also added immense value to the conference. 

This conference provided valuable insights and actionable strategies to protect our power grid and ensure the reliability and security of our national power supply. 

Lt. Gen Dr Rajesh Pant, Chairman said “To secure cyberspaces including power sector is not only Government’s responsibility but also involves Central & State PSUs, defence forces, academia and industry, therefore all have to join hands to build powerful and resilient defensive mechanisms to thwart any attack on Indian Critical infrastructure. In today's interconnected world, safeguarding our critical infrastructure against cyber threats is of paramount importance.”  General Pant said that CSAI would issue an outcome document to take it to the logical conclusion.

Prof NK Goyal, President said the vision of CSAI is  “To create a synergistic partnership between all stakeholders of cyber security operating in India. There is ever increasing threat landscape- smart grids, smart meters, IoT Devices etc. AI / ML  are now being used by the threat actors to exploit the vulnerabilities. People, Process & Technology- People being the most important. Process & Technology will fall in place if right set of People are employed & trained for the job.”

CSAI also announced that the next conference of critical information infrastructure will be of Health Sector to be held in March 2024.