MP power load dispatch centre gets additional cyber security

The MP Power Transmission Company Limited's (MPPTCL) load dispatch centre here has been provided additional cyber security, after the facility was recently recognised as a 'heritage critical and protected system' by the Union government, an official said on Sunday.

The MPPTCL set up a cyber security system at the state load dispatch centre (SLDC) to protect its state-wide power supply network from hacking in September 2021, after a cyber attack on Mumbai's power supply system caused outages there in October 2020, he said.

The Union government's National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) has provided the additional cyber cover at the facility here, the SLDC's chief engineer K K Prabhakar told PTI.

“Getting the recognition of 'heritage critical and protected system' means that any attempt of cyber hacking or tampering with the load dispatch centre's power network will be treated as an attack on national security and an act of terrorism. Anyone making such an attempt will be prosecuted by the Union Home Ministry under provisions of the Information Technology Act,'' he said.

The Centre had asked the power utilities of states to introduce a cyber security system after the power outage in Mumbai in October 2020 due to a cyber attack on its system, he said.

As per the Union government's instructions, the MPPTCL has written to the state government to issue a notification about the heritage system status given to the SLDC, the official said.

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