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NETWORK / 19 / FEBRUARY 2019 T oday's power utili- ties face multiple business and op- erational pressures, such as transition from DNO to DSO, compliance with new regula - tions, ageing infrastructure and potential skills shortages. Accommodating evolving con- sumer demand - from including flexible pricing to sustainable energy options - is another ma- jor challenge, while the growing adoption of solar, wind, and other renewables has required utilities to integrate these dis - tributed energy resources into the grid. Digitalisation, integration and connectivity evidently lie at the heart of future smart grid technology, and power utilities must be connected in order to improve grid efficiencies and resilience, balance demand and supply and deliver the next generation of services to an increasingly digitised, mobile customer base. However, they also represent a major challenge in terms of cyber security, data integrity and confidentiality, as every access point must be protected from an ever-greater number of attackers. Securing power utilities in an integrated, hyper-connected world Recent security incidents have resulted in new regulations to avert crippling attacks on criti- cal energy infrastructure. With the number and types of cyber- attacks expected to continue rising, it's imperative that power utilities invest in more effi - INDUSTRY INSIGHT cient, automated, and resilient energy grids in order to thrive and protect both the industrial network and critical national infrastructure. Power utilities must there- fore plan for a future based on digital transformation, with IT and smart grid applications that require advanced telecom- munications systems. IP-based, packet-switched networks will form the backbone of these new systems, providing system interoperability and facilitating new applications for improv- ing grid security, control, and automation. The evolving utility landscape After years of comparative stability and predictability, power utilities' traditional business models are experiencing significant shift and disruption. Cisco's Andrew Longyear outlines why this requires a fresh approach to security, from protecting networks to safeguarding critical national infrastructure. Connected-grid technologies will also offer a broad platform for innovation, helping unlock the power of IoT, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics. With utilities esti - mated to have more operational intelligent devices than any other industry, the potential for capitalising on this existing IoT network - and the terabytes of data it holds – is immense. PNDC and Cisco As part of Cisco's long-term partnership with the Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC) and in order to support the long-term digital evolution of power utilities, we have de - signed and installed a state-of- the-art operational security test bed at the centre. This facility represents all aspects of com - munications usually found at a power utilities network, with our cyber security solutions embedded into its design and implementation. Alongside these communica - tion components, we have also installed operational assets such as RTUs, protection relays and IED. This allows us to test multiple security scenarios and analyse the impact of new secu - rity techniques on conventional operational devices. It also ena- bles utilities to validate security architectures and assess current compliance levels. Learn more about our approach to securing power utilities and our work with PNDC by down- loading the whitepaper at http://cs.co/utwp