Cyber criminals are trying to leverage the COVID-19 emergency by sending out “phishing” attacks that lure internet users to click on malicious links or files. Through emails with phony pledges for health information, hackers are gaining access to sensitive data. Acumen is deploying remote cybersecurity services to help community-owned utilities protect against these dangerous COVID-19 phishing attacks.
Through its alliance with Hometown Connections, Inc., Acumen provides Utility Security Consulting, Operations Technology Engineering Consulting, and Regulatory Compliance Services to community-owned utilities to minimize the utility’s workload and risk profile.
Critical Infrastructure Attacks Up
The Power & Energy/Utility segment is one of the target segments for the COVID-19 phishing attacks. In fact, attempts to compromise critical infrastructure systems and services are up significantly since the beginning of 2020, according to cybersecurity officials at the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), a division within Homeland Security that tracks and investigates attacks against ICS and corporate networks.
Because utilities are enabling a large scale work-at-home system during the COVID-19 crisis, they must protect a larger cyber threat surface while defending against the increase in phishing. Acumen is working with many public utilities and municipalities, setting up effective defenses for this larger attack surface. These defenses include:
- Endpoint security
- Secure home network configurations
- Safe conferencing
- Protection for critical systems
- Phishing vigilance
- Patch management
For More Information
For information on how Acumen can help your utility address the cybersecurity threats emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, please contact:
Doug Westlund
Senior VP, Principal Consultant
Acumen
dougw@aesi-inc.com
416-997-8833
About Acumen
Acumen is an engineering and management consulting firm providing pragmatic and sustainable engineering, technical, and management solutions to electric utilities and government agencies across North America, helping maintain reliable operations, meet regulatory requirements, and manage with efficiencies. Acumen assists clients with their strategic and operational challenges through regulatory compliance, operations technology, cybersecurity, and energy solutions. For more information, visit https://www.aesi-inc.com/.