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ulatory compliance. Ever-changing regulations, including Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards that are approved by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), are a major challenge for electric utilities. NERC CIP regulations address everything from the identifcation of critical cyber assets to the physical security infrastructure required to protect them, as well as preplanned processes for incident response, and detailed reporting for CIP audits. Not only do electric utilities have to maintain compliance, they have to prove they are compliant as well. Utilities found to be in violation can be fned up to $1 million a day. For example, CIP-006 stipulates that unauthorized access attempts to CIP locations must be reviewed immediately and handled in accordance with the utility's CIP-compliant incident response plan. By funneling such incidents through a centralized command center and using predefned response plans (embedded in and automated through the PSIM system), utilities can be assured that established CIP policies and procedures are being followed uniformly and consistently. Te next step, proving compliance, is done through the PSIM system's automated reporting ability. Since all actions are captured and recorded, incident-related information can easily be accessed and shared when required. Another NERC CIP requirement is pre-planned maintenance and testing of security systems. PSIM can schedule and manage those activities. Reminders and task lists are automatically sent to responsible personnel to ensure that they take place. As mentioned prior, it's not enough to maintain compliance; a utility company must also be able to demonstrate that it has in fact done so. Simulated test scenarios can be captured and documented, along with the time and date the testing was completed as evidence that testing was performed and systems are operating as required. Te PSIM system can also monitor all of the numerous security sensors and systems and alert to malfunctions or failures in between testing. While compliance to these standards is the initial objective, the ultimate outcome is that everyone — individuals, businesses and government — literally have the power they need to function at all times. Tese are just a few examples of how traditional security technology has successfully crossed over into new applications. Te list continues to grow, as do the types of industries and organizations that can beneft. For systems integrators that have traditionally focused on the security side of the business, understanding these crossover uses of security technology can open up new project opportunities, and afford stronger ammunition — namely return on investment (ROI) and business cases — for day-to-day selling. Illy Gruber is Product Marketing Manager for NICE Systems. She can be contacted at illy.gruber@nice.com.