Smart Grid Security Will Get Boost from AI and 5G

For the energy industry, securing the grid is mission-critical. Increasingly, too, securing devices that lie beyond the centralized grid -- at the edge, so to speak -- is also critical as well as a moving target. Zero-trust cybersecurity, 5G connectivity and machine learning, though, may ultimately help this "smart grid," as this connected energy grid is known, become more resilient in the face of attacks. While the shift toward sustainable energy could help secure a better future for the planet and reduce carbon footprint, the smart grid -- fueled by connected things, microgrids and so on -- creates two-way, risky data flows that add complexity to an already antiquated energy grid. Smart grid technologies can balance peak demand, flatten the load curve and make energy generation sources more efficient, said Brian Crow, Sensus' vice president of analytic solutions, in a recent article on the role of IoT in utilities.