NERC Submits Remote Access Study

On June 30, 2017, in Docket No. RM15-14, NERC submitted a report providing the results of a study of the remote access protections required by NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards. NERC completed the Remote Access Study consistent with the FERC directive in Order No. 822 to perform a study to assess: (1) the effectiveness of the controls in the CIP Reliability Standards to mitigate known remote access vulnerabilities; (2) the risks posed by remote access-related threats and vulnerabilities; and (3) appropriate mitigating controls for any identified risks. Through the study, NERC found that existing protections are largely effective in mitigating many of the risks associated with remote access.