Monitoring the Electric Grid Is Easier Said Than Done

New Rules Tell Power Grid Operators to Log All OT Network Traffic Shaun Waterman • December 12, 2025

A new reliability standard for U.S. and Canadian electric grid tells major power companies to monitor and log traffic on their operational technology and industrial control systems networks. Operators, regulators said, should be able to detect, prevent and respond to unauthorized intrusions aimed at sabotaging the North American power supply.

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OT security experts say that the new rules - mandated after attacks on the Ukrainian electric grid by Russian hackers and the discovery of Chinese threat actors prepositioned in the networks of U.S. power companies - will be a heavy lift for the electricity sector.

The mandate may seem simple enough, but the breadth of the new requirements and the complexity of the systems they cover are anything but ...