Deterring Foreign Hackers From Threatening Grid Needed, But Prevention Must Be Key Objective: Protect Our Power

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to a front-page story in today's Wall Street Journal regarding security of the nation's electric grid, Protect Our Power Executive Director Jim Cunningham offered the following statement:

"Imposing tougher penalties is an important step to deter hackers from attacking our critical infrastructure. However, truly effective deterrence requires that we make the electric grid far less vulnerable to penetration than it is today.

"Our first line of defense must be taking strong, concrete actions now to make the grid more robust and resilient to all threats.  We need full cooperation among all government agencies, industry regulators and a broad cross-section of utilities to address these known vulnerabilities now.

"Most importantly we must identify how we will pay for this much needed and expensive project because it cannot be done on the backs of electric customers' rates alone. We need to secure federal funding to get started as soon as possible.  Our national security and quality of life requires it."

About Protect Our Power:

Protect Our Power (POP) is a not-for-profit organization designed to build a consensus among key stakeholders, decision-makers and public policy influencers to launch a coordinated and adequately funded effort to make the nation's electric grid more resilient and more resistant to all external threats. The national program must also ensure establishment of an enhanced power restoration and recovery component for all grid operations that would include communications protocols to protect the American public.

For more information about Protect Our Power, visit www.protectourpower.org.

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SOURCE Protect Our Power