NERC CIP Compliance

What is NERC?

Established in 1968, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority responsible for the security and reliability of the power grid infrastructure, impacting nearly 400 million people served by the bulk power system (BPS). NERC’s regulatory oversight includes the United States, Canada, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico, and is broken into six Regional Entities:

Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO)
Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC)
ReliabilityFirst (RF)
SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC)
Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE)
Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)

What is NERC CIP?

The NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards form the foundation of cybersecurity for the electric power industry, protecting the vital systems that keep North America's grids operational. These standards provide a framework for identifying and securing critical assets, the compromise of which could threaten the reliable delivery of electricity across the BES. Compliance with NERC CIP is required for more than 1,900 bulk electric power system owners and operators.

Since it was first officially introduced and implemented in 2008, NERC CIP has gone through several updates with NERC CIP version 6 being the most current. While the final order approving this version came out in 2016, updates to this version are still taking place.

Four Pillars of Critical Infrastructure Protection

While NERC CIP standards are comprehensive and cover various requirements, they can be categorized into four main pillars to address the lifecycle of protecting critical infrastructure in the electric utility sector:

Identification and categorization
Protection and controls
Monitoring and detection
Response and recovery

Importance of NERC CIP Compliance

Non-compliance with NERC CIP can have a substantial financial impact. When the program was first introduced, penalties were capped at $1 million per day for each violation. By 2025, this maximum penalty has risen to $1.54 million per day per violation. Non-monetary penalties can include being placed on a “reliability watch list,” a public letter of reprimand, and additional audits, investigations, and spot checks.

While no business wants to incur a compliance fine, NERC CIP compliance goes beyond simply passing an audit to avoid financial penalties. It’s about protecting the power grids communities depend on. By following these standards, you help prevent dangerous outages and ensure reliable, uninterrupted power. The key lies in developing a robust security strategy and implementing an ongoing program to protect your critical infrastructure.

What Are NERC Reliability Standards for CIP?

CIP-002-5.1a BES Cyber System Categorization

Identify and categorize bulk electric system (BES) Cyber Systems and their associated BES Cyber Assets based on their potential impact on the reliable operation of BES. (Effective December 27, 2016)

CIP-003-8 Security Management Controls

Implement consistent and sustainable security management controls to protect BES Cyber Systems. (Effective April 1, 2020)

CIP-004-7 Personnel & Training

Implement key measures to protect BES Cyber Systems including but not limited to security awareness program, cybersecurity training program, and personnel risk assessment program. (Effective January 1, 2024)

CIP-005-7 Electronic Security Perimeter(s)

Control electronic access to BES Cyber Systems by specifying a secure Electronic Security Perimeter (ESP) to protect BES Cyber Systems from compromise that could result in misoperation or instability in the BES. (Effective October 1, 2022)

CIP-006-6 Physical Security of BES Cyber Systems

Deploy and maintain physical security measures to protect BES Cyber Systems. (Effective July 1, 2016)

CIP-007-6 System Security Management

Implement several key security measures to protect BES Cyber Systems. (Effective July 1, 2016)

CIP-008-6 Incident Reporting and Response Planning

Mitigate the risk a cybersecurity incident could post to the BES by implementing specific incident response requirements. (Effective January 1, 2021)

CIP-009-6 Recovery Plans for BES Cyber Systems

Develop and implement comprehensive recovery plans for their BES Cyber Systems. (Effective July 1, 2016)

CIP-010-4 Configuration Change Management and Vulnerability Assessments

Implement processes for configuration change management and vulnerability assessments to protect BES Cyber Systems. (Effective October 1, 2022)

CIP-011-3 Information Protection

Deploy an information protection program for BES Cyber System Information (BCSI). (Effective January 1, 2024)

CIP-012-1 Communications Between Control Centers

Implement a documented plan to protect the confidentiality and integrity of real-time assessment and real-time monitoring data transmitted between control centers in the BES. (Effective July 1, 2022)

CIP-013-2 Supply Chain Risk Management

Develop and implement one or more documented supply chain cyber security risk management plans that address several key areas in the BEC Cyber Systems. (Effective October 1, 2022)

CIP-014-3 Physical Security

Identify and safeguard transmission stations, substations, and their primary control centers that, if damaged or rendered inoperable by a physical attack, could cause instability, uncontrolled separation, or cascading failures within an interconnection. (Effective June 16, 2022)

CIP-015-1 Internal Network Security Monitoring

Mandates internal network security monitoring (INSM) for all high-impact BES Cyber Systems and medium-impact BES Cyber Systems with external routable connectivity (ERC), ensuring early detection of anomalous network activity that may indicate an ongoing attack. (Effective July 9, 2024)

Fortra Solutions for NERC CIP Compliance

Achieving and maintaining NERC CIP compliance is challenging, but the right cyber solutions can simplify the process. Fortra’s cyber solutions provide continuous monitoring and real-time alerts, enabling swift action to protect critical infrastructure. Strengthen your security posture while making compliance more seamless with Fortra. Our solutions that will elevate your NERC CIP compliance include:

Fortra Data Loss Prevention

Get immediate deep visibility into your organization’s assets, blocking threats to your sensitive data before it’s lost. Equipped with real-time analytics and adaptable controls, it ensures your data protection aligns with NERC CIP standards. Fortra’s automated policy workflows deliver swift and consistent responses to potential breaches, meeting NERC threat detection and response requirements, while maintaining a comprehensive audit trail of data-related activities.

Fortra Vulnerability Management

With Fortra’s vulnerability assessment and management solution, organizations can run a network scanner to identify critical cyber assets, create security policies to protect all critical cyber assets, and determine how and when vulnerability assessments should be done.

Fortra Security Awareness Training

Our security awareness training solution can significantly aid in NERC CIP compliance, particularly with requirements related to personnel and training requirements. Fortra training can facilitate security awareness training for employees, track progress, identify high-risk behaviors, and provide audit trails.

Fortra Identity and Compliance Monitoring

By monitoring the status of ports and services on each critical asset, our solution saves time and provides real-time compliance status and audit records. It also delivers current compliance status and audit records, provides out-of-the-box reporting required by NERC standards, and addresses 23 of 44 NERC CIP requirements.

Fortra Extended Detection and Response

By providing comprehensive visibility and threat detection and response, our managed XDR solution can address several NERC CIP requirements, including ongoing monitoring of critical assets, real-time threat detection and response that enhances incident reporting and response planning requirements, and asset identification and management.

Don’t Leave NERC CIP Compliance to Chance

Protecting the North American power grid has never been more critical — or more challenging — amid relentless threats from hackers and bad actors. Achieving NERC CIP compliance is key to building a robust security posture, but for organizations with small IT teams juggling multiple responsibilities, it can feel like an uphill battle. Fortra’s advanced cyber solutions empower you to break the attack chain and pave the way for seamless, continuous NERC CIP compliance.

Additional Resources

Achieving Resilience with NERC CIP

The 7 Stages NERC CIP Audit Preparation

How WFEC Brings Power to Half a Million Americans

Cybersecurity Threats Facing Energy and Utilities