Cybersecurity Guideline for the Utility Business a Swiss Approach

It is no secret that cyberattacks have increased strongly, especially in the energy sector. This is among other things associated with the so-called digitization, i.e., the substantial use of sensors and information and communication technology. Therefore, cybersecurity developed to a major concern of utility companies as cyber-criminals attack production plants, distribution networks, assets and customer information. Cyber-criminals goals vary substantively, so there might be political driven reasons for an attack, even to financial driven attacks to harm the electricity availability combined with increasing financial pains. The possible impact of a successful attack is much bigger than any planned business continuity case. Therefore, a framework on cybersecurity guideline is introduced allowing utility companies to measure own cybersecurity maturity including a comparison against a baseline or measured results from equal/similar companies. The guideline also helps to build an intelligent risk register with risk probability and risk impact to quantify the risks from financial point of view, as well as for remediation purposes.