Smart grids help distribute energy in a sustainable way. As our energy demand far outstrips supply, these grids are poised to become hugely important to both cost and energy savings over the coming years.
But like any advanced technology, smart grids are subject to cyber threats and the power utilities sector is now seeking to moderate unauthorized access to smart grid data, as these newfangled grids become more and more popular.
Fig 1. Impact of Smart Grid Growth Drivers
Hence, the Global Smart Grid Cyber Security Market was born, and is expected to experience steady growth from 2013-2018, with a CAGR of 9.7 percent during the forecast period.
In advance of the Renewable Energy India Expo next week, TechNavio has delved into the Global Smart Grid Cyber Security Market with a special survey specifically focusing on the APAC region. To generate the results, we polled respondents from companies that manufacture and develop smart grids, as well as private and public utility companies using smart grid technology.
Based on the survey results, as well as our Smart Grid Cyber Security Market report, we have put together a comprehensive list of the main factors driving growth in the market.
Increase Complexity of Smart Grid Cyber Threats
Smart grid security is critical because power utilities operate in real-time, making it essential to deal with complex security threats on a round-the-clock basis. With an increase in deployment of smart grid technologies, a related increase has been seen in the complexity of cyber threats.
A recent example is the Stuxnet worm that targeted energy companies with an intention to spy on their energy delivery systems. These threats are pushing power utilities to put more robust security measures in place to avoid any interference with their services.
More Compliance Requirement
The introduction of regulatory standards and guidelines is a major driver of the Global Smart Grid Cyber Security Market. Utilities are expected to comply with the standard policies set by the government.
For instance, the US Energy Policy Act of 2005 made compliance to cyber security standards mandatory, and the North America Electric Reliability Corp. was incorporated to develop smart grid cyber security standards in the US.
Some regulatory standards that power companies must comply with are:
- Identifying critical cyber assets
- Developing security management controls to protect such assets
- Implementing risk assessment, training, and security awareness programs
- Implementing electronic perimeter security for critical cyber assets
- Implementing a physical security program to protect critical cyber assets, protecting assets and information within the electronic security perimeter
- Incident response reporting and response planning, and implementing recovery plans for critical cyber assets.
Pressure to develop cyber security measures to meet these needs will drive growth in the market over the projected period.
Emergence of Advanced Energy Delivery Systems
In the past few years, the energy sector witnessed a remarkable transition in delivering power to consumers. Advanced control systems such as supervisory control and data acquisition devices, which monitor and control utility operations have emerged over the years.
Additionally, an increase in the deployment of a two-way communication infrastructure such as an automated metering infrastructure is responsible for an increase in the measures adopted to secure energy delivery systems.
While these new technologies streamline energy delivery to customers, they also increase the system vulnerabilities and created additional physical access points, which, in turn, made it necessary to implement better security procedures within the control systems.
New Smart Grid Challenges
In the past few years, the Global Smart Grid Market witnessed new vulnerabilities—approximately 4,396 new vulnerabilities were detected in 2010 alone, a number that has increased year by year. As the systems get more complex, they have more components that can fall prey to viruses.
Components like servers, databases, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and ZigBee, energy management systems, smart meters and even smart phones can all be vulnerable, necessitating the development of bigger and better cyber security measures geared specifically for this technology.
For more TechNavio insights on the Global Smart Grid Cyber Security Market, check out our Renewable Energy India Expo coverage, and don’t forget to download our FREE smart grid survey results!
