Do Gas and Oil Need More Oversight Against Cyber Threats?
Who really knows whether the nation's natural gas and oil infrastructure is at heightened risk of cyber attack?
Government officials say the threat is real, and they want to oversee security. Industry leaders, however, are telling the government to back off.
Whether you see the drama or the comedy in the debate, gas and oil are basically saying they don't need any stinking badges.
Oil and Gas
Breaking Energy, a trade publication for the gas and oil industry, says there is no heightened risk of cyber threats to the infrastructure. Any risks are not new, and there's no cause for alarm.
"That's not to say cyber threats to pipelines aren't real," writes Mark Green. "But there's no equating an elevated threat level with higher vulnerability."
The publication says more than 50 companies already share cyber threat intelligence with each other and the federal government through the Oil and Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center. That's enough to police the threat, they say.
On the other hand, federal energy regulators have suggested the Energy Department oversee security because of increased cyber threats.
Fake News
That's fake news, the industry says.
"The nation's natural gas infrastructure doesn't need new oversight," Breaking Energy asserts. "There's no emergency, as some in the administration have asserted."
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