Cybersecurity recommendations for communication systems in the Colombian electrical sector

Communication systems are essential for the proper operation of the electrical sector in Colombia. However, these systems are still unprepared to face the problems caused by cyber-terrorism attacks. The threat of cyber-terrorism emerged in this very century as one of the biggest challenges for the electrical sector. In fact, improvements in efficiency in this sector have been achieved by acquiring new equipment that is compliant with communication networks standards (e.g. Internet remote controllers). In this article we present a proposal for implementing Cybersecurity strategies at typical Colombian power substations by following the international standards in the field. This paper promotes the implementation of best practices for the electric power sector in order to face one of the major challenges of the 21st century in terms of safe operation at any electrical sub-station, namely cyber-terrorism.