Single Industry Cyber Attack Coordination and Response Center (Energy CERT)

Main article: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

2022: Energy CERT Launch

The Ministry of Energy of Russia presented the launch of a pilot project to create a Unified Industry Center for Coordination and Counteracting Cyber Attacks (Energy CERT), Anton Semeikin, director of the Department of Economic Security of the Fuel and Energy Complex of the Ministry, said on February 9, 2022 .

For the safe and reliable functioning of the industry, additional channels of information exchange are needed, therefore, on the basis of a departmental center with the participation of leading electric power companies in various areas (network, generating, dispatching and sales), the Ministry of Energy of Russia launched a pilot project. In 2020-2021, we conducted large command and staff training and exercises, assessed the need for additional coordination in the event of a massive cyber attack on electric power facilities, "said Anton Semeykin.

Denis Novikov, head of the departmental center for detecting, preventing, eliminating the consequences of computer attacks of the Ministry of Energy of Russia, said that the creation of Energy CERT will help counteract cyber attacks taking into account industry specifics, promptly inform the relevant business and the expert community about vulnerabilities, provide methodological support, develop industry regulatory documents (policies, regulations, etc.) on cybersecurity.

The basis of the Russian energy infrastructure is the Unified Energy System, gas supply systems and main pipelines for the transportation of oil and oil products, which are both interconnected and interdependent. In the Russian economy, the fuel and energy complex occupies a significant place and plays the role of basic infrastructure, the basis for the formation of revenues of the budget system of Russia, the largest customer for other industries. Ensuring the cyber security of the fuel and energy complex is one of the key tasks for the sustainable functioning of the Russian economy as a whole, which is a prerequisite for launching a unified cybersecurity management system in the fuel and energy complex, "said Denis Novikov.

According to him, as of February 2022, the industry center is operating in pilot mode with the participation of 12 leading companies of the electric power complex, including the founders and members of the Digital Energy Association. In accordance with the target model of interaction between the Ministry of Energy of Russia, the FSB of Russia (NCCI), the FSTEC of Russia exchange information on attacks and vulnerabilities, form a regulatory framework, the Digital Energy Association provides its competencies for the development of industry standards and recommendations, and companies supply their data on security and inventory.

The Association, as the Center for the Competence of Digital Transformation of the Electric Power Industry, also acts as a platform for the exchange of industry experience in this history. We regularly hold events to increase the literacy of specialists in this area, conduct a continuous and close dialogue with relevant FOIVs, businesses and the expert community, "summed up Lev Paley, head of the Cyber Security Expert Group of the Digital Energy Association, head of the Information Security Service of SB UES JSC.