Watch the news lately? We are seeing random attacks on Electric Membership Cooperatives (EMCs) substations, their property, and equipment storage facilities and more. Following the Critical Security Controls best practices helps EMCs discover why it is important to have a plan to protect their assets and increase the overall security posture. Inventory and control of enterprise assets is important for several reasons.
First, EMCs need to actively manage all their assets, including power generation and distribution equipment, vehicles, buildings, and other property. This includes management and maintenance of all assets, not just those things connected to the internet. This information is critical for budgeting and planning as well as for identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities.
Second, maintaining inventory and control of assets also helps EMCs comply with regulatory and industry compliance. For example, conducting regular audits and reviews of certain types of equipment, and accurate asset information is necessary to ensure the organization’s compliance.
Third, EMCs depend on reliable service to their customers, and disruptions to that service can be costly. Maintaining the accuracy of inventory and control of assets can help EMCs quickly respond to and recover from outages.
The last reason we will cover is that EMCs also are responsible for safeguarding their assets from unauthorized access, damage, or destruction as we mentioned earlier. Natural disasters are one element, now we must have a plan for intentional destruction by those threat actors who wish to do the EMCs harm. Inventory and control of assets will ensure that the assets are properly secured, and that access to them is restricted to authorized personnel only, which will also help to minimize the risk of theft, vandalism, and intentional destruction.
The Critical Security Controls Top 18 are largely considered the best practices for organizations of all sizes and in all industries, to develop a sound business plan and reduce security risk.
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For more information, please contact Critical Path Security, by emailing us at sales@criticalpathsecurity.com