NERC CIP
NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection standards are mandatory reliability standards for bulk electric system owners and operators — the most rigorous cybersecurity framework in energy.
NERC CIP (North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection) standards govern the cybersecurity of the North American bulk electric system. Compliance is mandatory for bulk power system owners, operators, and users — including utilities, generators, transmission operators, and their critical vendors. Non-compliance fines can reach $1M per violation per day. The 2021 Texas winter storm and the Colonial Pipeline attack have increased NERC and FERC scrutiny of cybersecurity in the energy sector.
NERC CIP covers Electronic Security Perimeters (CIP-005), Physical Security (CIP-006), System Security Management (CIP-007), Incident Reporting (CIP-008), Recovery Plans (CIP-009), Configuration Management (CIP-010), Vulnerability Management (CIP-011), and Supply Chain Risk Management (CIP-013). CIP-013, added in 2020, specifically addresses software and hardware supply chain security — making it relevant to software vendors serving the energy sector.
NERC CIP compliance requires a sharp distinction between IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) environments. Industrial control systems — SCADA, DCS, EMS — operate in the OT environment and have different security architecture requirements than enterprise IT systems. Engineering teams building for the energy sector must understand this distinction and architect accordingly, as standard enterprise security controls may be inappropriate or insufficient for OT environments.
We deploy teams that understand both the IT and OT environments in energy — building grid management software, SCADA integrations, and energy management platforms with NERC CIP controls as first-class architecture requirements. Our teams understand CIP-013 supply chain requirements and build the documentation and technical controls that energy sector clients need from their software vendors.
Compliance-Native Architecture Guide
Design principles and a structured checklist for building software that is compliant by default — not compliant by retrofit. Covers data architecture, access controls, audit trails, and vendor due diligence.