Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

Earlier this month, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) co-chaired a meeting with industry leaders from the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (“ONG SCC”) in Washington, D.C. to address cybersecurity threats to pipelines. Together, DOE and DHS launched the Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative, which will harness DHS’s cybersecurity resources, DOE’s energy sector expertise, and the Transportation Security Administration’s (“TSA”) assessment of pipeline security to provide intelligence to natural gas companies and support ONG SCC’s efforts. “This meeting and the ones to follow will build upon the expanded cybersecurity measures in the recently updated Pipeline Security Guidelines and our collaboration with [DHS’s] National Risk Management Center to minimize the consequences of an attack or disruption,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. The Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative has been warmly received and complements other efforts in the energy industry, such as to the U.S. power grid, to enhance cybersecurity to protect critical infrastructure.