For many of us, access to power or electricity is expected. We might be interested in the source of our energy and climate change implications, but we don’t necessarily think about how it gets to our homes or offices, or the infrastructure and processes necessary to generate, store and deliver its supply.

Security Remains a Top Concern

Securing the supply of power has always been a priority for energy and utilities organizations, with a major emphasis on protecting critical infrastructure. Major damage to such infrastructure causes disruption to consumers and businesses, and there are also often significant financial and economic impacts — and potential implications for national security.

With data now the life blood of every industry in the world, the energy and utilities industry has had to rethink its security strategy and operations. This is not only to secure and protect physical assets such as control systems, networks and grids, but also to ensure the protection of data through every phase of its life cycle, including exploration, generation, storage, transmission and billing.

The move toward a smarter grid and the benefits of a smarter, connected system also has a flip side. Increasing connectivity and greater use of new technologies brings more vulnerabilities. This, combined with the increasing threat of cyberattacks, makes cybersecurity a critical aspect of security strategy and operations in utility companies today.

Driving Security Innovation With Collaboration

Collaboration is critical to driving security innovation and staying ahead of threats. This includes collaboration within and across industries, and also within governments and academia.

In Korea, local information technology services giant Samsung SDS recognized that no industry is immune to cyberattacks. By collaborating with IBM locally, it can help the Korean energy and utility sector defend against the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks.

IBM and Samsung have signed an alliance to work together. This will allow Korean energy and utilities enterprises to tap into the expertise and experience of both companies to deliver superior security services, including consulting, solutions and operations.

Samsung SDS will leverage its experience and industry knowledge gained from operating Samsung Group’s security systems for 20 years. Collaborating with IBM also allows Samsung to take advantage of our globally recognized expertise, integrated security frameworks and advanced technology.

By leveraging IBM’s integrated security framework solutions and services based on security consulting capabilities, analytics and intelligence, Samsung SDS plans to provide security services optimized and tailored to each industry line including transmission and distribution systems, power generation facilities and control systems.