New Tool Helps Hydropower Plants Assess Cybersecurity Risk

The hydropower industry can now access a new, free, and publicly available tool, called the Cybersecurity Value-at-Risk Framework (CVF), which offers a self-guided, automated way to make sound cybersecurity investment decisions for individual facilities. As more hydropower facilities transition to modern systems that are interconnected with the broader power grid, the risk of cyberattacks can increase. Simply assessing cybersecurity risk can be costly, and it is not easy to decide which cybersecurity investments are necessary. That’s why researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory built a free tool that will enable hydropower owners and operators to understand their individual plant’s cybersecurity risk and how to best conserve resources while mitigating those risks.  

In 2022, the multi-lab team published the first iteration of the CVF tool along with an instructional guide. The team also assessed the tool’s performance in partnership with Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s PacifiCorp hydropower facilities. Based on positive feedback during the Water Power Technologies Office’s peer review, the research team also plans to work with more industry partners to learn whether the CVF can help hydropower facilities save time, money, and effort while achieving the security they need. In coming years, the CVF is expected to contribute to enhanced cybersecurity for dam infrastructure, reduce operation and maintenance costs, and increase the resilience of natural ecosystems.