Critical Infrastructure Protection NERC CIP-002-3 Critical Cyber Asset Identification
NERC CIP-002 prerequisites stipulate a framework for the classification and documentation of Critical Assets (those assets if compromised, degraded, misused, interrupted, etc.) can affect the operation of the Bulk Electric System (BES). The Bulk Electric System is the system whereby power is produced and conveyed throughout North America across many regional and local utilities. The protection of the BES necessitates that a single entity (utility) must have acceptable controls and protections on critical assets and cyber assets to prevent and isolate undesirable events from the BES. Identification (CIP-002) and Protection (CIP-003 to CIP-009) are the secret to the health of the BES from the CIP viewpoint with each utility implementing controls to safeguard the security and integrity of their Critical Assets (CA) and Critical Cyber Assets (CCA).