Utilities Study How to Protect Grids From Rising Physical Threats

2026-03-16 · Source: IEEE Spectrum · Field: Energy & Utilities — Utilities & Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Robotics & Autonomous Systems · Depth: Intermediate, short

Summary

The Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) hosted GridEx from November 18-20, 2025, simulating a coordinated physical attack by Crimsonia on Beryllia's power grid during the 2026 World Chalice Games. This exercise, inspired by upcoming major sporting events, aimed to help utilities prevent and mitigate physical attacks, which are increasing in the U.S. and globally. Participation in GridEx reached an all-time high of over 28,000 individuals. Physical security breaches on U.S. and Canadian grids exceeded 3,500 in 2025, up from 2,800 in 2023, with about 3% causing electricity disruptions. The exercise highlighted growing threats like drone attacks, and showcased technologies such as sensor fusion for drone detection and AI-integrated robotics for perimeter surveillance. Prisma Photonics' fiber sensing technology, deployed across thousands of miles, uses AI to classify perturbations along fiber optic cables, enhancing grid monitoring.

Key takeaway

For utility executives and security directors grappling with rising physical threats, your teams should prioritize implementing advanced security technologies and translating exercise learnings into operational readiness. Focus on deploying solutions like sensor fusion for drone detection, AI-enhanced robotics for perimeter monitoring, and fiber sensing for infrastructure surveillance to proactively counter evolving attack vectors and improve grid resilience.

Key insights

Physical attacks on power grids are rising globally, necessitating advanced security measures and preparedness exercises.

Principles

• Threat actors exploit specific circumstances.
• Physical attacks are not unique to wartime scenarios.
• Exercise participation alone is insufficient; application is key.

Method

Sensor fusion combines pan-tilt-zoom cameras and radars for drone tracking. AI analysis integrates into robotic surveillance for improved detection of anomalies and damage to substation perimeters.

In practice

• Implement sensor fusion for drone detection.
• Integrate AI into robotic surveillance systems.
• Deploy fiber sensing technology for infrastructure monitoring.

Topics

• Power Grid Security
• Physical Security Threats
• Drone Detection
• AI in Security Systems
• Fiber Optic Sensing

Best for: CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Director of AI/ML, Security Engineer, AI Security Engineer, AI Operations Specialist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by IEEE Spectrum.