On Monday, the 2015 G-7 Summit ended with the President and other Leaders of the G-7 focused generally on a wide range of economic, security, and development issues, and specifically discussing the energy sector’s cybersecurity posture.  According to the White House, the Leaders “launched a new cooperative effort to enhance cybersecurity of the energy sector . . . [to] include analysis of different approached across the G-7; exchange of methodologies for identifying cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices; and investment in cybersecurity capabilities and capacity building.”

The G-7’s international effort appears to model the ongoing U.S. domestic efforts to protect the electric grid.  In the United States, the electric grid relies inextricably upon its key sector stakeholders to deliver essential services, and each of them have substantial networked information systems that must remain interconnected, from industrial controls within the power generation facilities to the sensors found in energy delivery systems.  Since 1998, the Electricity Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center (“ES-ISAC”) has served the energy sector by providing a platform for industry participants, the federal government, and other critical infrastructures to share cybersecurity information.  The ES-ISAC share “threat indications, analyses and warnings, and interpretations to assist industry in taking protective actions.”  The goal of the ES-ISAC and its participating members is to share such information that could help prevent cyber-related incidents, and it appears the Leaders of the G-7 hope to accomplish the same for their countries.

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Photo of Ashden Fein Ashden Fein

Ashden Fein is a vice chair of the firm’s global Cybersecurity practice. He advises clients on cybersecurity and national security matters, including crisis management and incident response, risk management and governance, government and internal investigations, and regulatory compliance.

For cybersecurity matters, Ashden counsels clients…

Ashden Fein is a vice chair of the firm’s global Cybersecurity practice. He advises clients on cybersecurity and national security matters, including crisis management and incident response, risk management and governance, government and internal investigations, and regulatory compliance.

For cybersecurity matters, Ashden counsels clients on preparing for and responding to cyber-based attacks, assessing security controls and practices for the protection of data and systems, developing and implementing cybersecurity risk management and governance programs, and complying with federal and state regulatory requirements. Ashden frequently supports clients as the lead investigator and crisis manager for global cyber and data security incidents, including data breaches involving personal data, advanced persistent threats targeting intellectual property across industries, state-sponsored theft of sensitive U.S. government information, extortion and ransomware, and destructive attacks.

Additionally, Ashden assists clients from across industries with leading internal investigations and responding to government inquiries related to the U.S. national security and insider risks. He also advises aerospace, defense, and intelligence contractors on security compliance under U.S. national security laws and regulations including, among others, the National Industrial Security Program (NISPOM), U.S. government cybersecurity regulations, FedRAMP, and requirements related to supply chain security.

Before joining Covington, Ashden served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence officer and prosecutor specializing in cybercrime and national security investigations and prosecutions — to include serving as the lead trial lawyer in the prosecution of Private Chelsea (Bradley) Manning for the unlawful disclosure of classified information to Wikileaks.

Ashden currently serves as a Judge Advocate in the
U.S. Army Reserve.