This episode features a round-table discussion regarding FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt – and touches on topics that may be holding entities back from adopting the Cloud.
The stage is set by framing the discussion in the context of dispelling misconceptions of Cloud FUD by simply asking the following three questions: First – Should we be replacing Fear with Facts? Second – Would it be better to be proactive and remove uncertainty by developing and implementing an action plan? Third- Can you alleviate doubt with experience and testing?
Host
Dr. Nathan Wallace, Director & Co-Founder of GridIntel and Cybirical, has BS degrees in Electrical Engineering, and Physics, a MS in Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Louisiana Tech University with a focus in Cyberspace Engineering. Dr. Wallace has worked for multiple utilities and joined Ampirical as a Staff Engineer and Director of Cyber Operations for its sister companies GridIntel and Cybirical. He is responsible for assessing various power system cybersecurity risks. He is a member of a cybersecurity industry advisory group to FERC and is the working group chair of two new IEEE Power system cybersecurity standards.
Guests
Maggy Powell, Security Assurance (Power & Utility Sector) at Amazon Web Services (AWS), is a seasoned professional with twenty-five years of experience in risk management for cyber security and regulatory issues covering a broad range of industries, including critical infrastructure security (OT/ICS), electric reliability, environmental markets, scientific research, and international trade. Prior to joining AWS, Maggy spent fourteen (14) years with a major investor owned utility as a Senior Manager responsible for managing and leading three technical cyber security teams dedicated to real time systems, including security engineering, industrial control systems (ICS) security operations center, and security & compliance.
Ranjan Banerji is a Senior Partner Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS) focused on the power and utilities vertical. Ranjan has been at AWS for 4 years, the first 2.5 of which he spend working on the department of defense (DoD) team helping all branches of the DoD migrate to and build new systems on AWS ensuring security and compliance requirements. Prior to AWS Ranjan was the Director of software development and enterprise architecture at SunEdison where he designed systems to acquire real time data from over 2000 power plants across the world. Ranjan has years of experience building and designing enterprise systems for the DoD, other federal agencies, the financial industry, and the energy sector. He has provided architecture and frameworks to help commercial ISVs and federal agencies achieve FedRAMP Authority to Operate(ATOs).
Samara Moore, Security Assurance Senior Manager and Global Energy Specialist, leads the security and compliance program for regulated industries and public sector in the Americas region for Amazon Web Services (AWS). As a thought leader and seasoned cybersecurity practitioner, she has focused her career on implementing and sustaining programs to effectively manage cyber risks and align security measures with business and IT strategies. Prior to joining AWS, Mrs. Moore managed enterprise security programs for regulated and non-regulated environments for a major energy provider. She also managing security programs within the federal government for over 10 years, including as a former Director of Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity for the WH National Security Council and Sr. Cybersecurity Advisor at the Energy Department. Mrs. Moore has worked in security consulting, operations and policy, and led the development of frameworks such as the Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model and supported the development of the NIST Cyber Security Framework.
Additional Information
For additional information in reference to this episode, please utilize the below links:
Well-Architected Framework – The Well-Architected Framework emphasizes learning, measuring, and improving. AWS provides the AWS Well-Architected Tool to help you review your approach prior to development, the state of your workloads prior to production, and the state of your workloads in production.
Operational Excellence Pillar – This pillar in the Well-Architected Framework provides an overview of design principles, best practices, and questions to focus on considerations for operational excellence.
AWS GovCloud – AWS infrastructure is Custom-built for the cloud and designed to meet the most stringent security requirements in the world. Our infrastructure is monitored 24/7 to help ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data. All data flowing across the AWS global network that interconnects our datacenters and Regions is automatically encrypted at the physical layer before it leaves our secured facilities. The AWS GovCloud (US) Regions allow customers to adhere to U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High, and Department of Defense (DoD) Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG) Impact Levels 2, 4, and 5. Visit the Compliance Programs page for a complete list of U.S. compliance standards supported by AWS GovCloud (US).
Previous Episodes in the Series:
Episode 1 | Cloud Based Solutions & Security for Power Systems
Episode 2 | Cloud Data Security – The Where, Who and How
Episode 3 | Security, Compliance, and the Cloud: Where We Are Today