National Institute of Standards and Technology

This report is a draft of key tools and methods to assist smart grid system designers in making informed decisions about existing and emerging wireless technologies. An initial set of quantified requirements have been brought together for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and initial distribution automation (DA) communications. These two areas present technological challenges due to their scope and scale. These systems will span widely diverse geographic areas and operating environments and population densities ranging from urban to rural.

This three-volume report, Guidelines for Smart Grid Cybersecurity, presents an analytical framework that organizations can use to develop effective cybersecurity strategies tailored to their particular combinations of Smart Grid-related characteristics, risks, and vulnerabilities.

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires that NIST develop a framework of standards for the Smart Grid. This document is the second release of the framework first published in January, 2010. It covers the activities and outputs of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel(SGIP), which is a public-private partnership to support development of this NIST framework. It includes progress on and plans for further development of the Conceptual Architectural Framework; an update to the list of standards identified by NIST and the SGIP for the Smart Grid; a description of the SGIP organization, its activities, processes, and working groups, including the Priority Action Plans for addressing Smart Grid standards gaps and overlaps; cybersecurity strategy and plans for and work products of the SGIP Cybersecurity Working Group (CSWG); development of a framework for interoperability testing and certification, including the Interoperability Process Reference Manual (IPRM); and a discussion of the next steps in the development of the NIST interoperability framework.