[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 246 (Friday, December 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78954-78956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27965]



[[Page 78954]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD22-12-000]


Joint FERC-DOE Supply Chain Risk Management Technical Conference; 
Notice Inviting Post-Technical Conference Comments

    On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 
convened a Joint Supply Chain Risk Management Technical Conference to 
discuss supply chain security challenges related to the Bulk-Power 
System, ongoing supply chain-related activities, and potential measures 
to secure the supply chain for the grid's hardware, software, computer, 
and networking equipment.
    All interested persons are invited to file post-technical 
conference comments to address issues raised during the technical 
conference identified in the Supplemental Notice of Technical 
Conference issued on December 6, 2022. For reference, the questions 
included in the Supplemental Notice are included below. Commenters need 
not answer all of the questions, but are encouraged to organize 
responses using the numbering and order in the below questions. 
Commenters are also invited to reference material previously filed in 
this docket but are encouraged to avoid repetition or replication of 
their previous comments. Comments must be submitted on or before 60 
days from the date of this Notice.
    Comments, identified by docket number, may be filed electronically 
or paper-filed. Electronic filing through https://www.ferc.gov is 
preferred. Documents must be filed in acceptable native applications 
and print-to-PDF, but not in scanned or picture format. Instructions 
are available on the Commission's website: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
    Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic filing, 
documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, submissions sent via 
the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 888 First Street NE, Washington, 
DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, 12225 
Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    For more information about this Notice, please contact:

Simon Slobodnik (Technical Information) Office of Energy Reliability, 
(202) 502-6707, [email protected]
Alan J. Rukin (Legal Information) Office of General Counsel, (202) 502-
8502, [email protected]

    Dated: December 19, 2022.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.

Post Technical Conference Questions

I. Supply Chain Risks Facing the Bulk-Power System

    The U.S. energy sector procures products and services from a 
globally distributed, highly complex, and increasingly interconnected 
set of supply chains. Information Technology (IT) and Operational 
Technology (OT) systems enable increased interconnectivity, process 
automation, and remote control. As a result, supply chain risks will 
continue to evolve and likely increase. This panel discussed the state 
of supply chain risks from a national and geopolitical perspective. 
Specifically, the panel explored current supply chain risks to the 
security of grid's hardware, software, computer, and networking 
equipment and how well-resourced campaigns perpetrated by nation 
states, such as the SolarWinds incident, affect supply chain risk for 
the electric sector. Panelists discussed the origins of these risks, 
their pervasiveness, the possible impacts they could have on Bulk-Power 
System reliability, and approaches to mitigating them. The panelists 
also discussed challenges associated with supply chain visibility and 
covert embedded spyware or other compromising software or hardware in 
suppliers' products, parts, or services.
    Please address the following questions:
    1. Describe the types of challenges and risks associated with 
globally distributed, highly complex, and increasingly interconnected 
supply chains.
    2. Describe the difficulties associated with supply chain 
visibility and how origins of products or components may be obscured.
    3. How are foreign-supplied Bulk-Power System components being 
manipulated and is there a particular phase in the product lifecycle 
where the product is manipulated for nefarious intent?
    4. How are these supply chain challenges and risks currently being 
managed?
    5. How has the current geopolitical landscape impacted the energy 
sector's ability to manage supply chain challenges and risks?
    6. How can Sector Risk Management Agencies and Regulators promote 
and/or incentivize supply chain transparency at the earlier stages of 
product development and manufacturing?
    7. Discuss the pathways (e.g., voluntary best practices and 
guidelines, mandatory standards) that together could address the 
current supply chain challenges and risks?
    8. What actions can government take, both formal regulatory actions 
and coordination, to help identify and mitigate risks from the global 
supply chain for the energy sector?

II. Current Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) Reliability Standards, 
Implementation Challenges, Gaps, and Opportunities for Improvement

    It has now been more than six years since the Commission directed 
the development of mandatory Reliability Standards to address supply 
chain risks, and more than two years since the first set of those 
tandards became effective.\1\ As discussed in Panel 1, supply chain 
risks have continued to grow in that time. In light of that evolving 
threat, panelists discussed the existing SCRM Reliability Standards, 
including: (1) their effectiveness in securing the Bulk-Power System; 
(2) lessons learned from implementation of the current SCRM Reliability 
Standards; and (3) possible gaps in the currently effective SCRM 
Reliability Standards. This panel provided an opportunity to discuss 
any Reliability Standards in development, and how these new standards 
will help enhance security and help address some of the emerging supply 
chain threats.
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    \1\ The SCRM Reliability Standards include: Reliability 
Standards CIP-005-7 (Cyber Security--Electronic Security 
Perimeter(s)), Requirements R2.4, R2.5, R3; CIP-010-4 (Cyber 
Security--Configuration Change Management and Vulnerability 
Assessments) Requirement R1.6; CIP-013-2 (Cyber Security--Supply 
Chain Risk Management).
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    Please address the following questions:
    1. Are the currently effective SCRM Reliability Standards 
sufficient to successfully ensure Bulk-Power System reliability and 
security in light of existing and emerging risks?
    2. What requirements in the SCRM Reliability Standards present 
implementation challenges for registered entities and for vendors?
    3. How are implementation challenges being addressed for utilities 
and for vendors?
    4. Are there alternative methods for implementing the SCRM 
Reliability Standards that could eliminate

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challenges or enhance effectiveness moving forward?
    5. Based on the current and evolving threat landscape, would the 
currently effective SCRM Reliability Standards benefit from additional 
mandatory security control requirements and how would these additional 
controls improve the security of the Bulk-Power System?
    6. Are there currently effective SCRM criteria or standards that 
manufacturers must adhere to in foreign countries that may be prudent 
to adopt in the U.S.?

III. The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Cyber Sense Program

    Through the Energy Cyber Sense Program, DOE will provide a 
comprehensive approach to securing the nation's critical energy 
infrastructure and supply chains from cyber threats with this voluntary 
program. The Energy Cyber Sense Program will build upon direction in 
Section 40122 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as multiple 
requests from industry, leveraging existing programs and technologies, 
while also initiating new efforts. Through Energy Cyber Sense, DOE aims 
to work with manufacturers and asset owners to discover, mitigate, and 
engineer out cyber vulnerabilities in digital components in the Energy 
Sector Industrial Base critical supply chains. This program will 
provide a better understanding of the impacts and dependencies of 
software and systems used in the energy sector; illuminate the digital 
provenance of subcomponents in energy systems, hardware, and software; 
apply best-in-class testing to discover and address common mode 
vulnerabilities; and provide education and awareness, across the sector 
and the broader supply chain community to optimize management of supply 
chain risks. This panel discussed specific supply chain risks that 
Energy Cyber Sense will address, as well as some of the programs and 
technologies DOE will bring to bear under the program to address the 
risks.
    Please address the following questions:
    1. How are emerging orders, standards, and process guidance, such 
as Executive Order 14017, Executive Order 14028, NIST Special 
Publication 800-161r1, ISA 62443, Reliability Standard CIP-013-2, and 
others, changing how we assess our digital supply chain?
    2. Given the dependence of OT on application-specific hardware, how 
could the inclusion and linkage of Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOMs) 
with Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) increase our ability to 
accurately and effectively assess and mitigate supply chain risk? To 
what degree is this inclusion and linkage of HBOMs with SBOMs taking 
place today and what steps should be taken to fill any remaining gaps?
    3. Given that much of the critical technology used in the energy 
sector is considered legacy technology, how can manufacturers, vendors, 
asset owners and operators, aided by the federal government, national 
laboratories, and other organizations, manage the supply chain risk 
from legacy technology? How can this risk management be coordinated 
with newer technologies that are more likely to receive SBOMs, HBOMs, 
and attestations?
    4. Where does testing, for example Cyber Testing for Resilient 
Industrial Control Systems (CyTRICS) and third-party testing, fit in 
the universe of ``rigorous and predictable mechanisms for ensuring that 
products function securely, and as intended?'' \2\
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    \2\ See Exec. Order No. 14028, 86 FR 26633, 26646 (May 12, 2021) 
(The Executive Order declared that the security of software used by 
the Federal Government is ``vital to the Federal Government's 
ability to perform its critical functions.'' The Executive Order 
further cited a ``pressing need to implement more rigorous and 
predictable mechanisms for ensuring that products function securely, 
and as intended.'')
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    5. More than ever, developers are building applications on open-
source software libraries. How can developers address the risks 
inherent with open-source software and how can asset owners work with 
vendors to validate that appropriate open-source risk management 
measures have been taken?
    6. U.S. energy systems have significant dependencies on hardware 
components, including integrated circuits and semiconductors, most of 
which are manufactured outside of the US. What tools and technologies 
are needed to understand the provenance of hardware components used in 
U.S. energy systems and the risks from foreign manufacture? How will 
the newly passed CHIPS and Science Act change the risk landscape? What 
is needed in terms of regulation, standards, and other guidance to 
strengthen the security of the hardware component supply chain from 
cyber and other risks?

IV. Enhancing the Supply Chain Security Posture of the Bulk-Power 
System

    This panel discussed forward-looking initiatives that can be used 
to improve the supply chain security posture of the Bulk-Power System. 
These initiatives could include vendor accreditation programs, product 
and service verification, improved internal supply chain security 
capability, third party services, and private and public partnerships.
    Vendor accreditation can be established in various ways. One of the 
more prominent ways is currently being explored by the North American 
Transmission Forum through its Supply Chain Security Assessment model 
and the associated questionnaire.\3\ The panel also explored certain 
programs and practices used by utilities to verify the authenticity and 
effectiveness of products and services. Internal supply chain security 
capabilities include hiring people with the appropriate background and 
knowledge, while also developing relevant skills internally, through 
training on broad supply chain topics and applying them to the specific 
needs of the organization. Finally, this panel addressed private and 
public partnerships on supply chain security and how they can 
facilitate timely access to information that will help better identify 
current and future supply chain threats to the Bulk-Power System and 
best practices to address those risks.
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    \3\ North American Transmission Forum, Supply Chain Cyber 
Security Industry Coordination, https://www.natf.net/industry-initiatives/supply-chain-industry-coordination.
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    Please address the following questions:
    1. What vendor accreditation programs currently exist or are in 
development? How can entities vet a vendor in the absence of a vendor 
accreditation program?
    2. What are the challenges, benefits, and risks associated with 
utilizing third-party services for maintaining a supply chain risk 
management program?
    3. What are the best practices and other guidance for security 
evaluation of vendors?
    4. What programs and practices are currently in use to ensure 
product and service integrity?
    5. What processes are used to test products prior to 
implementation?
    6. What is the right balance between vendor and product security 
and cost? Is there a point of diminishing returns?
    7. What are effective strategies for recruiting personnel with the 
appropriate background and SCRM skills to strengthen internal security 
practices? How do you provide the training necessary to further develop 
the skills specific to your unique organizational challenges?
    8. What are the best ways to meaningfully assimilate SBOM 
information and what subsequent analyses can be done to strengthen 
internal security practices?

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    9. How can the industry keep informed of the latest supply chain 
compromises? How do entities currently respond to these compromises to 
keep their systems secure? Are there ways to improve these responses? 
What actions can government take, both formal regulatory actions and 
coordination, to help keep industry informed of supply chain 
compromises and to facilitate effective responses?
    10. What key risk factors do entities need to consider prior to 
leveraging third party services and how should those risk factors be 
balanced with an entity's organizational policy? What SCRM controls do 
you have in place to ensure your systems and products have a reduced 
risk of compromise? Please discuss any challenges that you have 
experienced as well as successes.
    11. How should government and industry prioritize and coordinate 
federal cross-agency and private sector collaboration and activities 
regarding SCRM?

[FR Doc. 2022-27965 Filed 12-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


