Improving Energy Sector Security: A Holistic Approach to Critical Infrastructure Protection

LVT Mobile Security Solutions Improve Energy Sector Security

Winter is coming.

Like the Night Watch who guarded the realm in “Game of Thrones,” America’s energy sector faces an ever-present mandate: be vigilant, be mobile, and be prepared for threats that can emerge from any direction. Today, that medieval wisdom has found modern expression as security experts discover that static security countermeasures alone cannot protect our critical infrastructure.

The solution? Add flexible, future-proofed, mobile surveillance technology that can adapt as quickly as the threats evolve against our nation’s critical energy infrastructure. 

America’s Power Grid Under Siege

Awareness of the potential vulnerabilities of our nation’s electrical grid dramatically increased after the 2013 sniper attack on PGE’s Metcalf Substation. The event resulted in increased regulatory oversight on substations, but a renewed focus on identifying and mitigating security risk across the grid.

While electrical utilities are just one part of our nation’s energy infrastructure, the threats and incidents serve as an example of the threats these industries face as a whole. Since 2013, attacks on our electrical grid have continued to escalate both in number and severity.

In late 2022, gunfire attacks on North Carolina substations cut power to 45,000 people for days, while the 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline forced the shutdown of a major fuel artery, sparking gas shortages across multiple states.

In 2023, U.S. utilities reported 185 instances of physical attacks or cyberthreats on the power grid, double the number from just two years prior. With more than 80% of U.S. energy infrastructure privately owned, protecting these assets requires unprecedented cooperation between government agencies and energy companies. 

A 360-Degree Defense: The Holistic Security Imperative

Today's threats to critical energy infrastructure demand breaking down silos between physical and cyber security. The most effective protection does not come from treating these as separate domains but from integrating them into a comprehensive security posture that addresses possible threats across the entire spectrum.

A truly holistic approach to energy infrastructure security must span multiple dimensions:

• Physical security (barriers, surveillance, deterrence)
• Cyber protection (network segmentation, monitoring)
• Operational resilience (backup systems, recovery plans)
• Human factors (training, insider threat mitigation)
• Cross-sector coordination (public-private partnerships)

As recent incidents have demonstrated, attackers don’t distinguish between these domains—they exploit vulnerabilities wherever they find them. Utility companies must therefore adopt equally fluid defense strategies that protect assets from multiple angles simultaneously. 

Vulnerabilities Across Energy Sectors

The vulnerability landscape across the U.S.’s critical energy infrastructure is as diverse as the systems themselves. At its heart lies America’s electric grid, a vast network including over 55,000 electrical substations, many in remote or unmanned locations. The December 2022 attack on Duke Energy substations in Moore County, North Carolina, leaving tens of thousands without power, exposed how isolated critical infrastructure can become an easy target.

But physical attacks are just one threat vector. The Colonial Pipeline incident revealed how cyberattacks on one sector can trigger cascading effects across others. When hackers breached pipeline controls, it wasn’t just oil and gas infrastructure at risk. The attack also disrupted fuel supplies across multiple states, demonstrating how interconnected our energy infrastructure systems have become.

This interconnectivity poses particular challenges for emerging energy sectors. Despite their growing importance in our critical energy infrastructure, renewable energy facilities have become prime targets, accounting for 16% of known cyberattacks in the energy sector since 2020. Their often remote locations—wind farms spanning rural areas, solar arrays in isolated landscapes—create unique security challenges for energy companies that traditional static defenses struggle to address.

Even the most fortified facilities aren’t immune. Nuclear power plants, despite their robust security measures, including fenced perimeters, surveillance systems, and 24/7 armed security, must constantly evolve their defenses to match emerging threats to critical infrastructure. 

Nature and Weather Threats Create the Perfect Storm

The vulnerability landscape becomes even more complex when nature joins the fight. In 2023 alone, 24 weather-related disasters each inflicted over $1 billion in energy infrastructure damage, exposing how extreme weather can compromise even well-defended facilities. These natural challenges don't exist in isolation—they create opportunities for bad actors targeting our energy infrastructure.

Federal security experts particularly worry about this convergence. “A coordinated cyber and/or physical attack on the bulk power system, especially during a severe weather event, could be catastrophic,” warns a recent assessment. When storms knock out primary power or communication lines, backup security systems become critical—yet traditional solutions often fail precisely when they’re needed most, leaving critical energy infrastructure vulnerable. The same could be true for our oil and gas or rail infrastructure.

Bridging the Security Gap: Mobile Solutions Enable Critical Partnerships

Protecting America’s energy infrastructure demands more than just advanced technology—it requires seamless collaboration between public and private sectors. LiveView Technologies addresses both needs with mobile, solar-powered surveillance towers that serve as communication hubs between utilities and law enforcement.

These self-contained security systems deliver three capabilities that enable crucial partnerships for energy companies and critical infrastructure operators: 

Weather-Resistant Operations

When storms knock out traditional security systems, LVT® Units keep working—and keep partners connected. Their resilient design includes:

• Independent solar power and backup generators
• Rapid deployment capability
• IP-54 rated protection
• 60-mph wind resistance 

Advanced Threat Detection

LVT Units integrate highly reliable power with today’s most advanced video solutions, offering features like thermal imaging, native camera analytics, and agentic AI-powered monitoring to provide the most robust video coverage possible. Real-Time Coordination

Integration with Axon Fūsus’ Real-Time Crime Center and other video management system (VMS) technology transforms each unit into a collaborative platform, enabling instant information sharing between utility security teams and law enforcement. 

Building Stronger Security Networks for Critical Energy Infrastructure

Given that the majority of U.S. energy infrastructure lies in private hands, these technology-enabled partnerships have become essential for the comprehensive protection of the power grid. The ability to share real-time intelligence and coordinate responses across sectors creates a security network greater than the sum of its parts.

This networked approach manifests in several key initiatives for energy companies:

• Information Sharing and Analysis Centers for electricity and oil/gas sectors serve as real-time threat intelligence hubs, allowing utilities to quickly alert each other about emerging threats and coordinate responses
• Training exercises like GridEx bring together energy companies and government agencies to simulate and refine attack responses. In 2023, over 700 organizations participated in these critical readiness drills
• Security technology providers like LVT work directly with both private companies and government facilities to develop and deploy rapidly adaptable security solutions for critical infrastructure

In 2023, the U.S. General Services Administration recognized LVT’s collaborative potential by approving LVT Units for purchase by all federal, state, and local agencies, citing the technology as a “first line of defense protection everywhere from parking lots to remote power grid substations.” 

Building a Resilient, Reliable Security Strategy for Critical Infrastructure

The message is simple: We need security solutions that can withstand both storms and attacks on our nation’s critical energy infrastructure.

Here’s what needs to be done:

• Assess and Prioritize Risks: Identify the most critical assets and vulnerabilities across the power grid through regular risk assessment

• Layer Physical Security: Deploy multiple defensive measures to protect energy infrastructure, including advanced surveillance

• Implement Advanced Cybersecurity: Leading energy companies are now deploying multiple layers of digital protection:
  
  
  • Network Segmentation: Creating strict separation between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems, using air-gaps or data diodes that allow information to flow only in one direction—preventing attackers from pivoting from corporate networks to critical control systems
  • AI-Driven Monitoring: Deploying anomaly detection systems that identify unusual network traffic or control commands that might indicate an intrusion attempt—often catching sophisticated threats that signature-based systems would miss
  • Supply Chain Security: Implementing rigorous assessment of third-party vendors and control system components through programs like the U.S. Department of Energy’s CyTRICS, which tests equipment firmware for vulnerabilities before deployment
  • Zero Trust Architecture: Moving beyond perimeter defenses to a model where no user or device is inherently trusted, requiring continuous verification for access to critical systems

• Ensure Proactive Deterrence: Utilize real-time monitoring and response capabilities to prevent incidents before they escalate at critical infrastructure sites

• Implement Resilience Planning: Ensure backup systems and recovery procedures are in place for when incidents do occur at energy companies and their facilities 

Securing Tomorrow’s Power Grid Today

As one security executive at a hydropower site discovered: “It was a Friday night, and I started getting these alerts on my phone. So, I checked it out,” the head of security said. “When I looked at the thermal streams, I saw some figures running through the fence. I turned on the 5500-lumens spotlight, activated the trespassing alert, and saw the figures quickly scurry away. Mission accomplished.

This incident illustrates a crucial point: the time to act is now. The threats to our critical energy infrastructure are here, they're evolving, and bad actors don’t wait for perfect conditions. Only by implementing a truly holistic security approach—one that integrates physical defenses, cybersecurity measures, and cross-sector collaboration—can we ensure the resilience of the systems that power our nation.

By deploying innovative solutions like LVT's mobile surveillance units alongside robust cybersecurity protocols, energy companies can build a security perimeter that stands firm against vandals, cyber criminals, extreme weather, and whatever else might come their way, ensuring that America’s power grid stays operational, no matter the forecast. The answer is immediate. The threats are here, they’re evolving, and they're not waiting for perfect conditions.

Ready to learn why customers trust LVT to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure? Contact our team today for a demo.