Centre Issues Guidelines for Cyber Security in Power Sector

The central government released the guidelines for cybersecurity in the power sector with the aim to create a secure power cyber ecosystem.

The Guideline has been prepared after intensive deliberations with stakeholder and inputs from expert agencies in the field of cyber security, said the official statement.

The ministry said this is the first time that comprehensive guidelines have been formulated on cybersecurity in the power sector.

It lays down a cyber assurance framework, the strengthens the regulatory framework, puts in place mechanisms for security threat early warning, vulnerability management and response to security threats, securing remote operations and services, protection and resilience of critical information infrastructure, reducing cyber supply chain risks, encouraging use of open standards, promotion of research and development in cyber security, human resource development in the domain of Cyber Security, Developing effective public private partnerships and information sharing and cooperation.

The guidelines mandate ICT-based procurement from identified ‘trusted sources’ and ‘trusted products’ or else the product has to be tested for malware/ hardware trojan before deployment for use in the power supply system network, the ministry said.

It will promote research and development in cybersecurity and open up the market for setting up cyber testing infra in public as well as private sectors in the country.

The CEA is also working on cyber security regulations. These cybersecurity guidelines are a precursor to the same, it stated.