Measuring Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Cybersecurity for Renewable Energy Systems

Abstract

Renewable energy systems need to be able to make frequent and rapid adjustments to address shifting solar and wind production. This requires increasingly sophisticated industrial control systems (ICS). But, that also increases the potential risks from cyber-attacks. Despite increasing attention to technical aspects (i.e., software and hardware) of cybersecurity, many professionals and scholars pay little or no attention to its organizational aspects, particularly to stakeholders’ perceptions of the status of cybersecurity within organizations. Given that cybersecurity decisions and policies are mainly made based on stakeholders’ perceived needs and security views, it is critical to measure such perceptions. In this paper, we introduce a methodology for analyzing differences in perceptions of cybersecurity among organizational stakeholders. To measure these perceptions, we first designed House of Security (HoS) as a framework that includes eight constructs of security: confidentiality, integrity, availability, technology resources, financial resources, business strategy, policy and procedures, and culture. We then developed a survey instrument to analyze stakeholders’ perceptions based on these eight constructs. In a pilot study, we used the survey with people in various functional areas and levels of management in two energy and ICS organizations, and conducted a gap analysis to uncover differences in cybersecurity perceptions. This paper introduces the HoS and describes the survey instrument, as well as some of the preliminary findings. Keywords: Smart Grid; Functional Area; Operational Technology; Organizational Aspect; Renewable Energy Resource