PIPELINE CYBER INSECURITY AND THE UKRAINE WAR

HOUSTON, TX -- Representatives of the International Pipeline Resilience Organization (IPRO) addressed the security concerns of infrastructure companies operating in the Houston Ship Channel at a workshop held by the East Harris County Manufacturers Association and the Houston Ship Channel Security District, on Monday March 7.  The urgency of such discussion was emphasized by Jim Hoecker, head of IPRO and former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory  Commission, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the possibility that “geopolitics may soon intrude into domestic US cyberspace in a big way.”

Oil and natural gas pipeline systems, like the electric power industry, are more vulnerable to cyber attack as digitalization of their operations have progressed in recent years.  Bad actors, including nation-states, have demonstrated their ability in recent years to encrypt company data and demand a ransom and, more importantly, their ability to invade pipeline operations so as to “change pipeline pressures, manipulate valves, take over SCADA and other industrial control systems, force tanks to overflow, foul processes and essentially ‘weaponize’ energy facilities.’”   

IPRO offers a fresh self-regulatory approach for pipelines that decide to collaborate on ensuring that the status and adequacy of pipeline cybersecurity are understood and executed upon. Unlike the electric power industry, no institution exists to ensure adequate pipeline reliability measures. Hoecker argued to the group that this new approach could provide important benefits:

·      A proactive rather than reactive industry posture, with the industry collectively in charge of ensuring the best security management across the board

·      Risk management at scale ensures more predictable standards compliance and controls, rather than vague go-it-alone practices and reliance on after-the-fact reporting

·      More regular, efficient, and transparent communications with government regulators, for mutual benefit

·      Let’s discourage or foreclose the inclination of agencies, which often    lack a knowledge of pipeline operations, to mandate security practices from Washington

·      Collective action by energy companies will enable them to access, and make best use of, increasingly scarce and costly cybersecurity expertise

About IPRO. The International Pipeline Resilience Organization was founded in 2020 as a member-driven, non-profit corporation that works on behalf of two critical energy delivery industries -- the oil and natural pipeline (including liquids and products lines) – to identify pragmatic controls that reduce or eliminate the risks of cyber or physical intrusions and the resulting disruption of services. IPRO focuses on enterprise-wide cyber challenges and solutions that will achieve durable security for the North American energy economies.