State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

In Illinois, a unique effort to protect the grid from hackers

Midwest Energy News: State regulators in Illinois are staking out a unique foothold in an area of growing concern among public utilities: the security of information and digital assets in the smart-grid era.

Late last month, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) announced the establishment of an Office of Cybersecurity and Risk Management to prioritize and support “the ongoing efforts of regulated Illinois utilities to protect critical infrastructure from cybersecurity risk and unauthorized access to system and electronic data.”

The move comes amid a rising local and global awareness of hacking and other forms of cyber-intrusions. Institutions, private businesses and government agencies across a range of sectors have found themselves targets of high-profile digital breaches.

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