FAS

Electric Grid Security Still “a Work in Progress”

03.26.18 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Threats to the U.S. electric power grid in recent years, including actual attacks on transmission substations, have prompted utilities and regulators to adopt various steps to enhance grid security. A new report from the Congressional Research Service reviews the observable changes in security practices to date and discusses the current threat environment. See NERC Standards for Bulk Power Physical Security: Is the Grid More Secure?, March 19, 2018.

Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.

Bankruptcy Basics: A Primer, March 22, 2018

ATF’s Ability to Regulate “Bump Stocks”, CRS Legal Sidebar, March 22, 2018

Eight Mechanisms to Enact Procedural Change in the U.S. Senate, CRS Insight, March 20, 2018

Net Neutrality: Will the FTC Have Authority Over Broadband Service Providers?, CRS Legal Sidebar, March 20, 2018

Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs: Potential Economic Implications, CRS Insight, March 19, 2018

Unauthorized Childhood Arrivals: Legislative Activity in the 115th Congress, March 22, 2018

Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief, updated March 23, 2018

Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies, updated March 20, 2018

It Belongs in a Museum: Sovereign Immunity Shields Iranian Antiquities Even When It Does Not Protect Iran, CRS Legal Sidebar, March 22, 2018

publications
See all publications
Government Capacity
Blog
A Research, Learning, and Opportunity Agenda for Rebuilding Trust in Government

At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.

11.10.25 | 6 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Analytical Literacy First: A Prerequisite for AI, Data, and Digital Fluency

tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.

11.07.25 | 13 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Behavioral Economics Megastudies are Necessary to Make America Healthy

When the U.S. government funds the establishment of a platform for testing hundreds of behavioral interventions on a large diverse population, we will start to better understand the interventions that will have an efficient and lasting impact on health behavior.

11.06.25 | 10 min read
read more
Global Risk
Press release
FAS Receives $500k Grant On Emerging Disruptive Technologies and Mobile Nuclear Launch Systems

The grant comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) to investigate, alongside The British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the associated impact on nuclear stability.

11.06.25 | 3 min read
read more