On February 12, 2011, the American Bar Association Information Security Committee established the Smart Grid Privacy and Security Working Group. The working group's mission is to increase awareness regarding privacy and information security legal issues arising in connection with the Smart Grid among consumers, regulators, utilities, service provider and other stakeholders. Gib Sorebo, Chief Cybersecurity Technologist at SAIC, and Boris Segalis, partner at InfoLawGroup, will co-chair the group.

Members of the ABA Information Security Committee identified a number of challenged facing the Smart Grid community. These challenges include (i)  inconsistent or patchwork of legal requirements regarding the privacy and security of personal information processed in connection with the Smart Grid; (ii) immature consumer expectations regarding Smart Grid privacy; (iii) issues of government authority to access the personal information processed in connection with the Smart Grid; (iv) ownership and right to control the collection, use, disclosure and other processing of the personal information; and (v) liabilities associated with failing to adequately secure the Smart Grid. 

The working group's initial tasks likely will include (i) identifying relevant Smart Grid stakeholders and mapping relevant flows of personal information; (ii) preparing a 50 state survey of laws and regulations governing the privacy and security of the personal information collected, used, disclosed or otherwise processed in the Smart Grid, and identifying legislative and regulatory gaps; and (iii) identifying and summarizing the work of government agencies and other organizations and groups that are actively engaged in thinking through Smart Grid privacy and information security issues.

Action Item: For more on privacy issues affecting the Smart Grid, please join us for a free webinar on February 24, 2011 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EST. To register, please email bsegalis@infolawgroup.com.