Critical Cyber Asset Identification Process

NERC CIP Critical Cyber Asset Identification Process

Assessment Processes for Identifying Cyber Assets for Which

NERC CIP-002-1 Compliance Requirements Apply

1)      Create facility lists:

a.    Generation sites

b.    Operations Control Centers

c.    T&D Substations

d.    Other owned facilities with networked-computing needs, e.g., parts depot, maintenance shed, etc.

e.    Facilities owned by someone else that are connected to the grid within our aegis as a Reliability Coordinator

f.     Other resources where the Standard could potentially apply

2)      ID/adopt an internal-standard facility risk assessment methodology (tool) and:

a.    Formulate the defining characteristics of a facility (or other resource) that make it “critical to reliability of the bulk electric system” (by definition)

b.    Conduct a consistent risk assessment of each facility/other resource in terms of its criticality, based upon the defining characteristics (from #2a above)

c.    Document the reasoning behind the categorization of individual facilities/resources as being critical or not critical to reliability of the bulk electric power system

d.    Distill the facility/other resource listings to subset lists containing only critical facilities and other critical resources

3)      For each critical facility:

a.    Make a list of all cyber assets in use within and/or at the perimeters of each critical facility; (cyber assets also include physical access controls, monitoring)

b.    Assemble a list of cyber assets associated with other resources not situated within a facility but also deemed critical

c.    Subtract from each critical facility’s cyber asset list (created in #3a), and the list of other critical resources (created in #3b), those cyber assets which are not critical to reliability of the bulk electric system

d.    Subtract from each critical facility’s/other critical resource cyber asset lists those cyber assets specifically excluded from NERC 1300 compliance requirements (e.g., devices serving non-routable communications)

e.    The difference resulting from #3c & #3d are discrete lists of facility and other-resource critical cyber assets for which full NERC 1300 cyber security compliance requirements apply

4)      ID/adopt internal-standard vulnerability assessment methodologies (tools) for each type of critical cyber asset in use and:

a.    Conduct and record vulnerability assessments for each type of critical cyber asset as used in each critical facility/other resource

b.    ID/adopt and document defensible vulnerability mitigation strategies and tactics (countermeasures)

c.    Create a plan to apply countermeasures

5)  ID/adopt and document internal-standard security administration methods and procedures for measuring and maintaining the effectiveness of applied countermeasures


NERC CIP CRITICAL CYBER ASSET CCA IDENTIFICATION PROCESS
SCADANET CYBER INCEDENT RESPONSE CYBER SECURITY STATUS REPORT
NERC CIP & FERC CRITICAL CYBER ASSET LIST CYBER SECURITY COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST
NERC CYBER SECURITY CYBER SECURITY PROPOSAL CRITICAL ASSET IDENTIFICATION METHODOLOGY