Brett Luedde of ViaSat Inc., a service provider company at the marcus evans Transmission & Distribution Summit 2013 and Distribution Technology & Innovation Summit 2014, on network security and resiliency. Interview with: Brett Luedde, Director of Critical Infrastructure Security, ViaSat Inc.

1. Interview with: Brett Luedde,
Director of Critical Infrastructure
Security, ViaSat Inc.
“Great security is a business enabler,”
according to Brett Luedde, Director of
Critical Infrastructure Security, ViaSat
Inc, referring to energy delivery
infrastructure. “You can realize the
promise of advanced technology,
improve resiliency and reliability, and
establish trust in your systems and
operations. It is true that implementing
great security leads to compliance, but
merely being compliant does not mean
the systems are secure. From a cyber
attack perspective, the network is most
likely already infected in some way, and
if not, it is just a matter of when. The
ability to quickly detect changes in
behavior, which can indicate an attack
or infection, is absolutely critical,” he
adds.
ViaSat Inc. is a service provider at the
marcus evans Transmission &
Distribution Summit 2013, in Atlanta,
Georgia, November 4-6, and the
D is t ri b u t i o n T e c h n ol o g y &
Innovation Summit 2014, in Dallas,
Texas, March 31 - April 1.
What security threats and attacks
are energy delivery systems and
grids vulnerable to? How could
ViaSat’s cybersecurity control
system mitigate them?
Networks are vulnerable to internal and
external threats. The vulnerabilities
exist on many fronts as these systems
become more and more automated and
networked. Many of the threats are, or
are based on, known malicious content.
Every day there are new variants and
never-seen-before viruses and malware
being developed. The ability to quickly
detect changes in behavior, which can
indicate an attack or infection, is
absolutely critical.
The ViaSat cybersecurity control system
is based on our heritage with the
military in providing the tools,
technology and systems that allow
troops to complete their missions. We
understand that there are many
complex operational decisions that must
be made with confidence, based on an
operator’s ability to trust the
information they are receiving. We want
to establish the basis for that trust and
give operators the ability to act quickly
and decisively.
Our cybersecurity delivers real-time
situational awareness for grid operators:
monitoring, detection, and response
capability across multiple systems and
integrating both older legacy equipment
and new state-of-the-art IEDs. Not only
are we providing security at the device
level, but also to the communication
networks that connect grid control
systems. Our goal in the electric utility
industry is to enable mission assurance
and the highest Quality of Trust for grid
operators. Very simply, we enable
electric utilities to be resilient in the face
of grid events and keep the lights on.
What do traditional IT approaches
lack?
Traditional IT approaches, such as
firewalls, are an absolutely necessary
security layer, but they are insufficient.
They stop or identify known bad actors,
but cannot detect bad actors that are
already inside the network or that have
never been seen before. Typically, they
are deployed as point solutions and as
such they should be considered as
pieces of, or one layer of, a more
holistic approach.
What are the internal and external
threats to the operations network?
It is a well-known fact that humans are
typically the most vulnerable points in a
company. Insider threats come in two
types: inadvertent (think spear phishing
victims) and intentional (such as
disgruntled employees or former
employees). External threats can range
from natural disasters to kids just trying
to solve a puzzle to hacktivists to state
level sabotage.
Wherever the threat comes from utilities
need to be able to quickly detect the
anomalous behavior, respond appro-
priately and restore systems to steady
state. Implementing comprehensive,
holistic security enables this kind of
resiliency.
What are the benefits of real-time
monitoring and detecting of
anomalies?
Monitoring and detecting anomalies in
real time is what gives you resilient grid
operation. Coupling this with powerful
and easy to use visualization enables
operators to quickly respond to events
and minimize – or even avert – outages.
Because we are monitoring the behavior
of the devices and measuring their
trustworthiness, we are able to quickly
detect changes that originate from
inside or outside networks, and that
might be the result of known or
unknown viruses or malware.
This greatly increases resiliency and
reliability. Behavioral monitoring in the
operational networks and real-time
situational awareness and response
helps reduce and avert outages, as well
as recover more quickly from adverse
grid events. Also, securing commu-
nications pathways and establishing
trust within the networks enables
utilities to achieve the full benefits of
their automation and efficiency
improvement programs.
Networks are
vulnerable to
internal and
external
threats
Building Energy Network Security and Resiliency

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About ViaSat Inc.
ViaSat engineers creative ways to connect people to today’s new communication applications with networking systems that enable
fast, secure, and efficient communications to virtually any location. Products include gateway and terminal equipment for consumer
and mobile satellite broadband services, antenna systems, mobile satcom, communication system development, and information
security.
www.viasat.com/critical-infrastructure-security
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To view the web version of this interview, please click here: www.energy-summits.com/BrettLuedde
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