MRO’s Security Advisory Council (SAC) has an ongoing mission to conduct outreach and promote awareness of key security topics. The SAC works with MRO staff to present webinars on topics that concern security professionals charged with protecting the operations of the bulk power system.
During the first quarter of 2025, the SAC presented three webinars:
- On January 22, 2025, the SAC sponsored “Your Epidermis is Showing.” Matthew Shultz, an Information Security Specialist from FERC, spoke regarding how the oversharing of organizational information on owner/operator websites and social media may leave an organization vulnerable to social engineering attacks. The presentation and recording are available to professionals from entities registered with NERC and/or MRO, by contacting Margaret Eastman, MRO Security Administrator.
- On February 4, 2025, the SAC sponsored “Penetration (Pen) Testing – Lessons from Pen Testing New Software Pre-Go-Live”, presented by SAC member David Johnson, Supervisor of Security Operations at Oklahoma Gas and Electric Energy Corp. and Tyler Webb, Principal Industrial Tester at Dragos. The presentation and recording of this webinar are available at the link.
- On March 20, 2025, the SAC sponsored “GridEx VIII Preparation Webinar: An Overview of GridEx VIII.” This webinar was intended to help attendees prepare for Gridex VIII, the largest grid security exercise in North America. This webinar featured Jesse Sythe, E-ISAC’s GridEx Program Manager and Ashley Wemhoff, NPPD’s Business Continuity & Drill Coordinator. The presentation and recording of this webinar are available at the link.
MRO’s Critical Infrastructure Security Department and the SAC are seeking suggestions of topics and speakers that will be of interest to the community of security professionals. To suggest a topic and/or speaker, please complete the survey posted on the Critical Infrastructure Security page on MRO’s website.
– Margaret Eastman, MS, CIPP/US, MRO Security Administrator, and Steen Fjalstad, MRO Director of Security