Energy Department Develops Tool with Industry to Help Utilities Strengthen Their Cybersecurity Capabilities

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the release of a new Cybersecurity Self-Evaluation Survey Tool for utilities that will strengthen protection of the nation’s electric grid from cybersecurity threats.

The Cybersecurity Self-Evaluation Tool utilizes best practices that were developed for the Electricity Subsector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model Initiative, which involved a series of workshops with the private sector to draft a maturity model that can be used throughout the electric sector to better protect the grid. Maturity models, which rely on best practices to identify an organization’s strengths and weaknesses, are widely used by other sectors to improve performance, efficiency and quality. The development of the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model was led by the Energy Department in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and in close collaboration with industry, other Federal agencies, Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, and other stakeholders. More than a dozen utilities nationwide participated in pilot evaluations to help refine the model.