NERC CIP Compliance and Cyber Exposure Management
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards are a mandatory suite of cybersecurity regulations that govern the protection of assets critical to the Bulk Electric System (BES) across North America. It includes:
- Electric utilities (generation, transmission, and distribution)
- Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs)
- Grid operators and balancing authorities
- Industrial facilities with cogeneration assets
- Municipal power cooperatives
Their purpose is to ensure the operational reliability, safety, and resilience of electric utilities by safeguarding the cyber assets that directly impact electric power generation, transmission, and distribution.
NERC CIP Relevance and Impact
As electric utilities modernize their infrastructure (including advanced metering, DER integration, and digital substations), they face expanded attack surfaces and increased risk of cyber attacks, including nation-state threats and ransomware campaigns. In 2022, the energy sector was the third most targeted industry by ransomware attacks globally (IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Report, 2023).
Achieving and maintaining continuous NERC CIP compliance requires real-time asset visibility, contextual risk assessment, configuration management, and integrated incident response capabilities.