What is NERC CIP?
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standards define mandatory cybersecurity requirements for protecting the assets that support the Bulk Electric System (BES). These standards apply to utilities and other entities that own, operate, or use BES Cyber Systems, which are critical to the reliability of the power grid in North America.
NERC CIP requires organizations to identify, categorize, and protect systems based on their potential impact on the grid. The standards mandate strict access controls, secure perimeters, detailed change management, and auditable records to ensure that cyber and physical threats do not compromise the safety and stability of electricity delivery.
Compliance is not optional. Organizations that fail to meet NERC CIP requirements may face regulatory penalties. The scope includes both Information Technology and Operational Technology environments, with increasing attention on their convergence.
Need to enforce NERC CIP controls across your network? Learn how Tufin helps utilities define secure perimeters, track changes, and prepare for audits. Request a Demo!
NERC CIP Requirements
NERC CIP includes multiple standards. The following are most relevant to network security policy management. Tufin provides the capabilities to help organizations implement and maintain controls related to these requirements.
CIP-002: BES Cyber System Categorization
Organizations must identify and categorize their BES Cyber Systems based on risk impact to the grid. These categories determine the scope of required protections.
CIP-005: Electronic Security Perimeters (ESPs)
Responsible entities must define and secure the boundaries around BES Cyber Systems. This includes implementing access controls at all Electronic Access Points and enforcing a deny-all rule with only necessary exceptions.
CIP-007: System Security Management
Entities must manage ports and services on BES Cyber Systems. Only necessary services should be enabled, and network devices must be monitored for configuration compliance.
CIP-010: Configuration Change Management and Vulnerability Assessments
Organizations must control changes to configurations affecting BES Cyber Systems. Every change must be formally reviewed, documented, and assessed for risk. Systems must also be regularly tested for vulnerabilities.
Tufin and NERC CIP Compliance
With Tufin, you can define, enforce, and monitor the security controls required by NERC CIP. You can map the perimeter of your ESPs, control how access is granted, validate every change, and prepare audit-ready documentation.
Define and secure Electronic Security Perimeters
Tufin provides complete visibility into your network topology, including all traffic flows, assets, and zones. You can map the boundaries of your Electronic Security Perimeters and inventory your BES Cyber Systems to define clear segmentation of your network infrastructure.
You can then document compliant access flows using Tufin’s Unified Security Policy. Whether using the out-of-the-box template or a custom framework, this tool simplifies the process of enforcing a default deny-all policy and permits only essential traffic. Tufin continuously monitors these rules and flags violations that could impact compliance.
These capabilities help you maintain a clear and accurate boundary around critical systems.
Enforce port and service management at scale
Tufin helps you identify, prioritize the removal of risky ports and services that may be in use across your infrastructure. You can monitor allowed services, flag unauthorized ones, and ensure that only what is necessary remains active.
This helps maintain service configurations that align with compliance requirements.
Control changes and assess configuration risk
With Tufin, you can evaluate the risk and compliance of every proposed network access request before implementation. The platform simulates the impact of the change and checks it against your security compliance policies.
Each change is fully documented, approved, and stored to preserve a comprehensive audit trail. You can also integrate vulnerability assessments into your approval process to ensure that changes do not expose vulnerable assets to untrusted networks.
These controls support disciplined change management and proactive risk mitigation.
Maintain a continuous state of audit readiness
Tufin’s Rule Lifecycle Management app automates the process of reviewing all inbound and outbound access rules for BES Cyber Systems at least once every 15 calendar months. Use the app to automatically contact the relevant technical owner and business owner to collect business justifications for firewall policies, and document them in the RLM app, ready for audit at any time.
Tufin automatically generates audit-ready records of every policy change. You can demonstrate how your access controls are defined, enforced, and maintained over time.
