The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed new rules to enhance cybersecurity for the electric grid in the U.S., which includes security management controls to specifically respond to risks associated with malware.

FERC suggested that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the nonprofit that helps regulate the U.S. electric utility industry, implement “mandatory controls to address the risks posed by malware from transient electronic devices like laptop computers, thumb drives and other devices used at low-impact bulk electric system cyber systems…”

The new rules are timely in view of the most recent warning to critical infrastructure systems by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security late last week.