We are pleased to introduce you to Electrical Power and Energy Systems (EPES) Shield against complex incidents and extensive cyber and privacy attacks (PHOENIX), a project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

In times of aggressive digitalization, when everything must be inter-connected and data from crucial systems must be available to many different users in any given time is even more important to have proper security measures implemented in your SCADA environment.

Critical infrastructure comprises all the assets that are vital for the smooth functioning of a society. They include infrastructures such as energy, communications, healthcare, transportation and others. These critical infrastructures are coupled in various ways, and, therefore highly interdependent.

How could cyber incident response teams and cyber security professionals be trained and prepared to protect the forthcoming smart grid from cyber threats? A smart grid cyber range (SGCR) can be tailored for this purpose by utilizing virtualization and simulation to imitate or mimic abnormal features commonly found by DSOs and TSOs, as well as simulating cyberattacks observed in the real world.

The COVID-19 experience which could potentially compromise the continuity of the ordinary EPES operation in the first months of 2020, has increased the awareness of people who must be able to carry out their ordinary, and not only, activities by remote, without loosing the efficiency requested for the management of strategical energy infrastructures.

Trust, but verify

Industrial automation and control systems (IACS) in the energy infrastructure (e.g. SCADA) are vulnerable to cyber security incidents. Digitalization, increased integration, and convergence of Information Technology and Operational Technology (IT & OT) are opening new avenues for cyber-attacks.

Today, technologies make many aspects of our lives interconnected and interdependent. In this scenario, the development of new technological solutions should consist not only in the analysis of the best technical components, but also in the understanding of the ethics, regulatory, and security contexts in which the solution will be implemented. By adhering to this dual approach, researchers can prove that technological progress occurs in harmony with other instances of human life.

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