EuroWire March 2019

Transatlantic cable

In Mr Arntz’s view it is imperative that every power plant has a backup solution robust enough to meet its needs in a worst-case scenario. † † “Compromising Vital Infrastructure: The Power Grid” concluded with a reminder that there are other ways, besides cyberattack, to cripple an energy grid. Any interruption in the reliable supply of coal, water and natural gas – or in wind, solar or nuclear power – would do it. “This is a good reason to use a wide variety of resources,” wrote Mr Arntz. It should also, he added, be a strong inducement to promote renewable energy. † † Members of US President Donald Trump's administration are not very often congratulated on their sound thinking, but Mr Arntz noted with approval a recent recommendation from energy secretary Rick Perry. Having told lawmakers at an appropriations hearing in Washington that hundreds of thousands of cyberattacks are happening every day, Mr Perry called for funding for an office of cybersecurity and emergency response within the Department of Energy.

he wrote, do more than just abide by minimum-security standards. They, and their suppliers, should have themselves tested on their ability to withstand cyberattacks, on a regular basis. Besides the obvious precautions to be taken by utilities, there are physical measures that governments could enforce to strengthen the stability of a stressed power grid. Mr Arntz noted the recommendation of Joshua Pearce, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Technological University: “We need to break up the grid into a bunch of microgrids that still act together as a full grid, so that we still have all the benefits that we have today with our giant centralised grid while still having the security.” In an attack, an individual microgrid could be taken out without ill effect on all the others – which would make even a successful cyberattack less disastrous. † † It should be unnecessary to observe that critical operations like power plants should have independent emergency power backup systems. And most of them do, wrote Mr Arntz. But are these tested regularly for functionality? Do they have enough supplies to last during a prolonged power outage? Is there an option to turn them on manually if they fail to kick in automatically; and is someone always on the premises, and always available, who knows how to do this? Assurances here should be able to be taken for granted, too.

The US government shutdown

At a month in, how was President Trump’s shutdown seen to be hindering the American economy?

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March 2019