Terence Gill & Roger Simmons: Bringing Texas Utilities Together to Strengthen The Grid Through Collaboration

About Terence Gill: Terence Gill is a seasoned professional with 26 years of experience in technical roles across various industries. With a background in Computer Science and Finance, he has successfully designed and developed critical systems for organizations like Lockheed Martin, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and BNY Mellon. Currently, as the Program Manager of the Texas Cybersecurity Outreach Program, he collaborates with Cybersecurity Specialist Roger Simmons and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to enhance cybersecurity posture among almost 60 utilities across the state, transforming the program from a legislative bill into a pivotal force safeguarding the Texas grid.

About Roger Simmons: Roger Simmons, CISSP, C|EH, is a highly experienced Cybersecurity Specialist at Paragon Systems, boasting an impressive career spanning over 18 years. With a diverse background in both public and private sector organizations, he has played pivotal roles in establishing and fortifying security and compliance programs. Notably, he contributed to shaping the U.S. Department of Defense's cyber workforce requirements and co-chaired Texas's Statewide Information Security Advisory Committee on Security Workforce Development.

In this episode, Aaron, Terence, and Roger discuss:

• Exploring the Texas Cybersecurity Outreach Program
• Collaborative efforts in strengthening cybersecurity for power utilities
• Asset management and its role in cyber resiliency for organizations
• The importance of personnel identification for cybersecurity in the Texas grid

Key Takeaways:

• The Texas Cybersecurity Outreach Program is a unique initiative bringing utilities together to cooperate on cybersecurity solutions, driven by government vision and legislative support, fostering a platform for knowledge exchange and mutual learning to bolster the security of electric utilities in Texas.
• In the power utility industry, a strong culture of sharing and collaboration drives significant advancements in safety and reliability, as organizations unite to tackle challenges and bolster the grid's resilience, ultimately benefiting the greater good of society.
• Asset management is the foundational key to enhancing cybersecurity resilience, understanding the true risks to the business, and building a more reliable system, and it requires continuous improvement and buy-in from the C-suite to ensure its effectiveness.
• Effective cybersecurity in the energy sector requires comprehensive asset management, including identifying critical personnel responsible for managing assets during a crisis and fostering communication and collaboration between utilities.

"Not enough utilities are talking to each other. That's really my main concern. Because, as we know, a lot of bad actors are out there, and they're working together. And they're doing whatever they can to penetrate our systems and to cause chaos and havoc… getting utilities to talk to one another, I think that's critical communication." — Terence Gill

 "The first piece of asset management is understanding what you have and trying to divide that into bite-sized pieces. So, regardless of the size of your organization, unless you're like a one person, one computer shop, you're going to have to divide and conquer." — Roger Simmons

Resources Mentioned:

Texas Utilities Cybersecurity Monitor Outreach Program: https://parasys.com/cybermonitor/

Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Summit: https://parasys.com/cybersummit/

Public Utility Commission of Texas: https://www.puc.texas.gov/