July 2017_CEO Newsletter

personal information of -our members and consumers—secure.
The state of security now- Fortunately,
America’s electric cooperatives have taken a
leading role on this issue. America’s cooperatives
have spent countless hours helping the
nation’s grid watchdog, known as the National
American Electric Reliability Corporation
(NERC), develop and write the Critical Infrastructure
Protection standards. In addition, the
development arm of NRECA (National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association)- the Cooperative
Research Network (CRN)- has taken it a
step further and authored the Guide to Developing
a Cyber Security and Risk Mitigation Plan.
This document (backed by the U.S. Department
of Energy and endorsed by the head of grid security
at IBM), provides a set of scalable, online
tools that can help electric cooperatives
strengthen their cyber security posture. GVP
currently has a robust infrastructure of safeguards
that include firewalls, multi-factor identification
requirements, and blocks that turn away
suspicious network packages.
Locally- Grand Valley Power was recently
selected as one of the cooperatives in the nation
that will participate in the Self-Assessment
Research Project, developed by NRECA’s Rural
Cooperative Cyber Security Capabilities Program
(RC3). RC3 is focused on developing tools
and resources that are appropriate for smalland
mid-sized cooperatives that have limited
information technology staff. In addition, the
program will provide collaboration, education,
and training opportunities that will be available
to all cooperatives, regardless of size. This project
will help GVP develop and implement a solid
cyber security action plan; we will be positioned
as a leader in cyber security. We will be
ambassadors for protecting personal identifiable
information and grid security for GVP, and
for all other cooperatives.
On a National level- President Trump
recently signed an executive order highlighting
the need to improve federal agency and administration
cybersecurity, focusing on steps that
owners of critical infrastructure can take to protect
against significant cybersecurity incidents.
The order also calls for a government assessment
of a "prolonged power outage" associated
with a significant cybersecurity breach
against the electric power sector.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson endorsed the
executive order, noting that "A secure grid is
paramount for America's electric cooperatives
and their 42 million consumer-owners. We appreciate
the [Trump] administration recognizing
the importance of cybersecurity, and we look
forward to working together as we continue to
address this critical issue."
Grand Valley Power’s innovative and
principled approach to Cyber-security is
squarely in line with our mission, and will help
ensure that we can continue to deliver value to
all we serve.