Energy and utilities
Security monitoring and CIP evidence for utilities.
Security built for grid operators and utilities
Utilities need a usable security history across control centers and remote sites. Collection health, retained logs and documented review help teams investigate concerns while keeping operational authority clear.
Requirements
| CIP | Requirement | Supporting evidence |
|---|---|---|
| CIP-007 R4.1 | Log events for after-the-fact investigation. | Windows, identity, VPN and firewall logs. → |
| CIP-007 R4.2.2 | Alert on detected logging failure. | Alert when a source goes silent. → |
| CIP-007 R4.3 | Retain at least 90 days. | Retention per source or group. → |
| CIP-007 R4.4 | Review at intervals of 15 days or less. | Scheduled, dated reports. → |
| CIP-002 | Security event monitoring is an EACMS. | Role-based access and a console audit log. → |
NERC CIP-007
A logging process needs more than collected events. It also needs visibility into logging failures, appropriate retention and a record that reviews took place. Bring those elements together for the systems within the utility’s CIP scope.
CIP-007 R4.2.2
A silent or degraded source should become visible to the team responsible for collection. Retain the interruption and recovery history so a later investigation can account for missing evidence.
Remote sites
Buffering can preserve records through a dropped link and forward them after recovery. A view of when each source last reported helps distinguish connection delays from activity that has not been recorded.
Living off the land
Familiar administrative tools can be used outside their legitimate purpose. Behavioral context from AI Detection helps analysts review changes in accounts, hosts and destinations against operating and maintenance activity.
By rule
CIP-002
Security event monitoring is an EACMS. Role-based access limits the information available to each reviewer, with administrative activity retained.
Questions
Is there a CIP report?
Reports and dashboards can organize logging and incident evidence for a CIP review. Select the relevant systems, periods and control objectives so the report supports the utility’s assessment.
Who approves an action?
The organization defines who may approve each response. A SOAR workflow presents the decision to that person and retains the approval, action and outcome.
What stays with the utility?
The utility owns operational control, its applicable CIP program and the security of the monitoring system itself. Internal network monitoring, including CIP-015 where applicable, and other controls are planned as part of that wider program.
Guide
What does NERC CIP-007 R4 require?
It requires logging security events, an alert when logging fails, 90-day retention and a review at least every 15 days.
Is a SIEM in NERC CIP scope?
A SIEM’s role in monitoring or controlling electronic access can affect its classification and CIP obligations. Assess the actual function and connections within the utility’s environment.
How do utilities secure remote substations?
An agent buffers logs through outages, and the SIEM alerts when a site stops reporting.
How ARRTECH takes care of utility security
Connects security activity into a signed record, giving incident decisions and board reporting evidence that can be independently verified.
Protects intellectual property and customer trust, with content-aware controls that let organizations adopt AI on their own terms.
Expands response capacity through automation, with defined human authority and a record of who approved what.
Finds changes in behavior that predefined rules miss, connecting the signs of an attack so teams can understand what warrants action.
Investigates alerts, tests explanations and prepares the evidence, giving analysts more capacity while people retain authority over the response.
