Cybersecurity standards to be developed for EU distribution systems

The European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS) and the EU DSO Entity will develop state of the art cybersecurity regulation, practices and standards for the electricity distribution system.

The tighter collaboration between ENCS, a European non-profit owned by grid operators, and the EU association for distribution system operators will work to increase the resilience of Europe’s power system against cyber-attacks.

Under an MoU, ENCS and EU DSO Entity will share knowledge as well as best practices in the field of cybersecurity. Both organisations will combine strengths with the intention of supporting the deployment of secure European distribution grids.

The cooperation will allow EU DSO Entity to utilise the expertise of ENCS and bind it with its workstreams to strengthen the development of good practices and security solutions for all European DSOs.

The agreement will also enable ENCS to expand its expert knowledge pool and enlarge the community for trusted information and knowledge sharing.

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Announcing the agreement at Enlit Europe in Paris, Anjos Nijk, managing director of ENCS, said: “From the very start in 2012 ENCS worked closely with the DSO domain due to the unprecedented cybersecurity challenges imposed by the roll-out of smart meters at a European scale.

“Now cybersecurity has developed into an integral challenge for the grid as a whole. In light of the energy transition and geo-political tensions, the need to cope with grid security at the European level working with the best grid security expertise available has become evident.”

Also commenting on the announcement, Peter Vermaat, Secretary General, DSO Entity, added: “As a very knowledgeable, independent, non-profit organisation, ENCS is a natural partner to us. Building on our existing relationships, we look forward to jointly work on good practices and pragmatic security solutions for all European DSOs.”

DSO Entity was established by the European Commission as part of its Clean Energy Package, providing expertise on distribution grids and containing a legal mandate that allows DSOs to contribute to developing and drafting network codes and other EU regulations.

Launched in 2021, the EU DSO Entity represents almost 900 DSOs (small, medium, and large firms) connecting more than 250 million electricity customers, servicing over 500 million consumers, across all 27 EU Member States.

ENCS brings together critical infrastructure stakeholders and security experts to deploy secure European critical energy grids and infrastructure.

ENCS uses its network in academia, government and business to provide cybersecurity solutions and counsel dedicated to the needs of national Distribution System Operators (DSO) and regulators.