The roundtable discussion brought together various leaders in the energy sector to discuss systems integration

G4S Technology, an award-winning security systems integrator and expert project management company for communication networks and fully integrated, electronic security systems, hosted a roundtable discussion titled ‘Security System Integration in the Utility Sector: Balance between Detection and Protection’ on September 9 during IQPC’s 2014 Power Grid Resilience Summit in San Francisco, California.

Led by Kevin Glynn, Director, Energy Sector, and a dedicated, respected expert on the security challenges surrounding the energy and utility industry, the roundtable discussion brought together various leaders in the energy sector to discuss systems integration within the industry, the balance between detection and protection when assessing or classifying sites and the development of a layered security approach.

In recent years, threats of theft, terrorism, targeted attacks and environmental disasters against the energy and utility sector have drastically increased, endangering the reliability of critical energy services nationwide. Any disruption or termination of services brought on by these risks has the potential to affect hundreds of thousands of individuals in widespread communities without access to fundamental necessities, such as electricity or clean water supplies.

"As the need for energy services increases every year, the risk factors grow – these range from unforeseen natural disasters, to more deliberate attacks, such as copper theft or terrorism. That’s exactly why the Power Grid Resilience Summit is so essential in terms of today’s industry climate; we’re establishing an open forum for discussion in an incredibly crucial area,” Glynn said.

“A tactical, layered approach is paramount to enforcing security at these facilities. Our discussion will be focused on how to apply a blend of best security practices that we, at G4S, have developed across various critical infrastructure projects to formulate a defensive strategy should an incident occur.”

During the presentation, G4S discussed the growing need for energy and utility firms to implement a layered security approach involving access control, surveillance, analytics and intrusion detection to increase response times, how to review protection techniques wherever necessary and the crucial deployment of redundant platforms within communication and IT infrastructure.

Additionally, as an authority with over 25 years of experience in the energy and utility sector, G4S Technology provided insight into relevant federal compliance matters. The organisation provides high-level, mission-critical facilities with comprehensive compliance strategies that encompass all areas of NERC CIP regulations, as well as a wide range of government mandates across the nation’s critical infrastructure.

“G4S Technology’s compliance strategy is unique in that we begin with a tactical, outward-looking-in approach,” Glynn said. “Our team then develops a plan structured around threat mitigation, and designs cutting-edge solutions to provide concentric layers of security protection. We pride ourselves on providing compliant, comprehensive solutions from conception to completion and beyond through ongoing system maintenance.”