Last fall, in Northern California, the United States experienced its first-ever long-lasting and deliberate, large-scale blackout. Fueled by increased fears of devastating fires due to its century-old equipment, the region’s utility companies shut off power to more than 1.5 million people forcing many evacuations. The impact was devastating; Michael Wara, a climate and energy expert at Stanford University, estimated the cost to California as up to $2.5 billion. For cybersecurity experts like myself, the blackout was a signal of just how precarious our reliance on electricity is, and how much we have to fear in cyberattacks.
How to Safeguard Against Cyberattacks on Utilities
In 2019, California showed us how costly a sustained power outage can be.
January 23, 2020
Summary.
Think about what would happen if a cyberattack brought down the power grid in New York or even just a larger part of the country. As we saw in the California power outages of 2019, people could manage for a few hours — maybe a few days — but what would happen if the outage lasted for a week or more? If a larger population was targeted with a cyberattack on a utility, is an evacuation of millions of people feasible or desirable? It’s time to prepare for this type of situation. Looking to recent events — the California outages and they Wyoming wind storm of 2017 — provides us a glimpse of what the unimaginable could be, and shows us how necessary it is to safeguard against it.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Decision Making. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Practical ways to improve your decision-making process.