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Special Section: Protecting the Grid Excerpts from Chuck Brooks 2014 radio interview on the Dick Morris Show Dick Morris: Tell us what’s going on with the Grid, Chuck Chuck Brooks: It’s a monumental issue. Nobody is paying attention to the electrical grid even though we all depend upon it. Most of the grid was built in the 1950s, It’s vulnerable not only to terrorist incidents, but also from being old. Most of the telephone lines and circuit breakers are over 30 years old. Yet energy usage has increased almost 60% since the 70’s. It’s an $860 billion industry involving 70,000 transformer power stations, with 70% of the transmission lines 25 years old or more and 60% of the circuit breakers over 30 years old. On the subject of Cyber/SCADA, aka “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition”, a new Ponemon study has revealed that 67 percent of critical infrastructure providers reporting falling victim to at least one security breach in the last twelve months, causing disruption of operation or loss of sensitive information. “Breaches in a cyber-way”, Brooks responded to another question from Morris asking “What kind of Breaches”. But terrorist activites are only one of 38 the threats, said Brooks. There are cyber threats involving malware that can cause Denial of Service aimed at master stations and control centers, and blackouts can be caused by human error… But the biggest threats of all are weather threats, ranging from lightning to geomagnetic storms – such as the Carrington Event of 1859 and the Railroad Storm of 1921 – and solar flares. A solar geo-storm that sends an electric wave, a “flare from the sun”, could take out 90% of our infrastructure. And there have been terrible solar geo-storms in the past. But we weren’s as connected then Morris: So what are the solutions? Brooks: It’s a combination of solutions. Incredibly, there are few facilities that even have guards, despite the fact that the grid is an $860-billion industry that generates enormous profits for 90% of the facilities that are privately owned. The combination of solutions includes guards for the facilities, sharing of information between electrical power companies and hardening the “targets” for surge protection, because the biggest threat is the voltage surge threat. The targets would also protect citizens from solar flares or geo-magnetic storms. Morris: And what is the government doing
Zwipe introduces HID Technology biometric cards for iCLASS® and ProxCard® Readers Continued from page 31 these organizations can now benefit from the leading edge biometric authorization technology by simply incorporating the card into their existing systems in the same way they already incorporate proximity or HID Global smart cards. The Zwipe solution enables customers to extend the life of their existing infrastructure while simultaneously increasing its security. With Zwipe’s patented on-card authentication technology, only the authorized cardholder can activate card communication with the reader. This means no more lending or borrowing of ID badges to access buildings, university labs, hospital pharmacies, data centers or networks. By upgrading the authentication from something they carry (a card) to something they are (a fingerprint), the issues associated with a lost or stolen credential are dramatically reduced. The problems associated with PINs and passwords are eliminated through the use of Zwipe’s biometric authentication technology. The on-card fingerprint scanner with 3D capacitive technology resides on the contactless smart card that utilizes an embedded HID Global 13.56MHz iCLASS or 125kHz Proximity transponder. The Zwipe biometric card is also compatible with MIFARE Classic and DESFIRE EV1. By incorporating Zwipe’s biometric solution to access control, organizations can increase the security of their systems, their employees and their assets by changing the authentication from something you carry to something you are without any modification to their existing infrastructure. About Zwipe Starting in 2009, Zwipe challenged the status quo of identity verification by replacing PINs and passwords with fingerprint authentication. After developing the leanest, fastest, and most power efficient fingerprint algorithm in the world, Zwipe continued disrupting the industry through its patented energy harvesting technology. No longer dependent on batteries, Zwipe fingerprint readers harvest the energy needed from already existing access, transport, border control and financial infrastructures. With its already strong portfolio of patent applications, Zwipe continues to develop and refine its innovative technology. For more information, visit www.zwipe.com or follow them on Twitter@Zwipe. to encourage responsible actions and investments by the electric power plant operators? Brooks: With the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of Representative Trent Franks HR3410, Congress is now establishing standards that business has to follow. The needs are for: • Collecting and sharing information 39 • Hardening of targets to provide grid protection by protecting against surges and voltage • Storage and automated self-healing • Mandatory security standards • Training and contingency planning It would not be too expensive to harden the facilities. It’s an $860 billion industry.
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