Achieving Continuous NERC CIP-015-1 Monitoring with Valkyrie’s Automated Host & Network Correlation

For CISOs and Compliance Managers in the energy sector, NERC CIP compliance isn’t just a regulatory hurdle; it’s fundamental to safeguarding our critical infrastructure. The latest standard, NERC CIP-015-1, on Internal Network Security Monitoring (INSM), marks a significant shift.

It’s pushing us to look deeper within our networks to spot threats that have already bypassed traditional perimeter defenses. Why the change? Incidents like SolarWinds showed us that once attackers are inside, they can move undetected, causing immense damage. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) itself noted that previous standards didn’t fully cover vulnerabilities inside the network. With the energy sector facing ever-evolving cyber threats, continuous internal monitoring is becoming essential to catch suspicious activity before it cripples operations.

This means adopting an “assume breach” mindset: while perimeter defenses are crucial, we must be prepared to detect and respond to threats already operating internally. NERC CIP-015-1 focuses squarely on this, demanding better visibility into what’s happening within our Electronic Security Perimeters (ESPs), especially the “East-West” traffic between critical systems. 

For CISOs, this standard means enhancing your actual security posture. For Compliance Managers, it means new, complex requirements needing solid, auditable proof. It applies to high and medium-impact BES Cyber Systems, impacting a wide range of entities from Generator Operators to Transmission Owners.

With a compliance deadline likely around late 2027, the time to prepare is now. The increasing interconnectedness of Operational Technology (OT) systems, thanks to IT/OT convergence and IIoT, expands the internal attack surface, making this internal focus a necessity. 

Understanding NERC CIP-015-1: What You Need to Know 

NERC CIP-015-1 isn’t about rigid, step-by-step instructions. It’s objective-based, meaning it defines the security outcomes you need to achieve. At its heart, it’s about effectively detecting and responding to suspicious activity inside your ESPs. It boils down to three core requirements: 

• R1: Implement INSM – See What’s Happening: This is the big one. 

• • Part 1.1 (Network Data Feeds): You need to set up network data feeds, based on risk, to monitor network activity, connections, devices, and communications. This means understanding your critical assets and how they normally talk to each other. 

• • Part 1.2 (Anomaly Detection): You must use methods to detect anomalous network activity from these data feeds. This is where understanding “normal” is key. It’s less about just spotting known bad signatures and more about recognizing unusual behavior. If you don’t know what normal looks like, how can you spot abnormal? 

• • Part 1.3 (Evaluation): Once you detect something fishy, you need to evaluate it and decide on the necessary actions. 

• R2: Retain INSM Data – Keep the Evidence: You need documented processes to keep records of anomalous activity. This data needs to be detailed enough and kept long enough for proper analysis and investigation. 

• R3: Protect INSM Data – Guard Your Monitoring Data: The security data you collect needs to be protected from unauthorized access, deletion, or changes. 

Meeting these requirements means more than just buying new software. It means showing you’re using it effectively, consistently, and securely. This makes user-friendly dashboards, good logging, and easy reporting crucial. 

Common Roadblocks to NERC CIP-015-1 Compliance 

Achieving compliance isn’t a walk in the park. Many organizations face similar challenges: 

1. The Asset Visibility Gap: You can’t protect what you can’t see. Many struggle with a complete inventory of all hardware and software, especially in complex OT environments with legacy systems or undocumented devices. Without knowing what’s on your network, effective monitoring is a tough ask. 
2. The Baselining Puzzle in Diverse OT Environments: What does “normal” traffic look like? It can vary wildly from a remote substation to a central control room. Manually figuring this out for every context is a huge task, and networks change, often requiring re-baselining. 
3. Alert Fatigue – Drowning in False Positives: If your monitoring system cries “wolf!” too often, your team can become desensitized, potentially missing real threats hidden in the noise. Fine-tuning is essential. 
4. Resource Squeeze and the Need for Automation: Compliance costs money and needs skilled people. Many organizations are stretched thin. This makes automation for tasks like data collection, analysis, and baselining incredibly important. 

These issues are often linked. Poor asset visibility makes baselining hard, which leads to more false positives, which then drains your limited security team. It’s a cycle that needs a strategic approach to break. 

Valkyrie: Smart INSM with Automated Host & Network Correlation 

To tackle these NERC CIP-015-1 challenges, you need tools that go beyond basic monitoring. Insane Cyber’s Valkyrie platform is built to give you a complete view of your OT environment. Its standout feature? Automated host and network data correlation. 

Think of it this way: Valkyrie doesn’t just look at network traffic (like traditional NIDS/NIPS) or just at what’s happening on individual devices (like EDR). It does both, automatically linking events on your hosts (like a new process starting) with the network traffic they generate. This “dual-layer analysis” provides crucial context. An unusual network flow might be perfectly normal if explained by a legitimate host activity, or a seemingly innocent host event could be part of a larger network attack.

This correlation is Valkyrie’s superpower for NERC CIP-015-1: 

• Meeting R1 with Precision: 

• • Asset Discovery (R1.1): Valkyrie automatically discovers and maps your assets. This gives you the foundational visibility needed for risk-based data feeds. 

• • Dynamic Baselining with Context (R1.2): By understanding what applications and processes are running on hosts, Valkyrie creates more accurate and dynamic baselines of “normal” network behavior. This automation also helps with resource constraints. 

• • AI-Powered Anomaly Detection & Fewer False Positives (R1.2): Valkyrie uses AI to spot anomalous activity. The added host data provides context to tell real threats apart from benign deviations, significantly reducing alert fatigue. You can even tailor detection logic for specific threats relevant to your environment. This helps find threats early, even those that are new or highly targeted. 

• • Faster Evaluation (R1.3): When an alert fires, Valkyrie provides a correlated view of host and network data. This complete picture means analysts get actionable intelligence in seconds, not hours, speeding up investigations. 

• Meeting R2 (Data Retention) & R3 (Data Protection): Valkyrie’s automated data collection and reporting help create the necessary records for R2. Like any robust security platform, it’s designed with secure data storage and access controls to protect your INSM data, aligning with R3. 

Cygnet: Taking Valkyrie’s Power to the Edge 

Energy infrastructure is often spread out. Remote substations or distributed generation sites can be tough and expensive to monitor continuously, creating potential blind spots. NERC CIP-015-1, however, applies to critical systems regardless of their location. 

Insane Cyber’s Cygnet flyaway kit solves this. Cygnet is essentially Valkyrie software in a portable, rugged package (around 3.8 lbs with 4-12TB of storage and optional LTE). It brings Valkyrie’s advanced host and network correlation to the field. 

How Cygnet Boosts NERC CIP-015-1 Compliance: 

• Rapid Incident Response: If there’s an incident at a remote site, Cygnet can be deployed instantly to collect critical data. This is vital for evaluating anomalies (R1.3) and gathering data for retention (R2), speeding up your response. 

• Proactive Threat Hunting: Use Cygnet for on-site assessments and threat hunting in areas not covered by continuous monitoring. 

• Monitoring Hard-to-Reach Places: Perfect for remote or temporary locations, Cygnet can collect data even without an internet connection for later analysis. 

• Periodic Audits: Deploy Cygnet to gather data for compliance checks or vulnerability assessments at specific sites. 

For organizations with many remote sites, Cygnet offers a cost-effective way to ensure INSM coverage without needing a permanent, full-scale solution everywhere. 

The Strategic Advantage: Valkyrie and Cygnet for CISOs & Compliance Managers 

NERC CIP-015-1 is a challenge, but it’s also a chance to seriously upgrade your security. Valkyrie as your central monitoring engine, and Cygnet extending its reach, create a flexible and comprehensive INSM solution. 

Key Benefits: 

• Simplified Audits & Demonstrable Compliance: Valkyrie’s dashboards and reporting provide clear evidence for auditors, making it easier to show you meet NERC CIP standards. 

• Reduced Manual Work: Automation in data collection, correlation, and analysis frees up your security team to focus on high-value tasks, not just sifting through data. 

• Better Threat Detection & Faster Response: Behavior-based anomaly detection, enriched by host/network correlation, helps spot even novel threats early. Contextualized data means quicker, more accurate investigations. 

• Stronger Security Posture & Reduced Risk: Proactively identifying threats before they cause major impact genuinely improves security and reduces cyber risk. 

Effective INSM, powered by tools like Valkyrie and Cygnet, turns compliance from a cost center into a strategic enabler of resilience. It helps protect uptime, ensure safety, and maintain BES reliability. The AI-driven correlation and user-friendly interfaces also empower your existing team, which is crucial given the cybersecurity skills gap. This behavior-based approach is also more future-proof against an ever-evolving threat landscape. 

Valkyrie & Cygnet vs. NERC CIP-015-1 Requirements: 

Secure Your Critical Infrastructure with Intelligent INSM 

NERC CIP-015-1 is pushing the energy sector towards deeper internal network visibility. It’s a necessary evolution. Insane Cyber’s Valkyrie platform, with its unique automated host and network data correlation, and the versatile Cygnet flyaway kit, offer a powerful solution to meet these demands. 

With these tools, you can move from reactive to proactive security. Automatically discover assets, build accurate behavioral baselines, detect novel threats with AI, and investigate rapidly. This empowers your team to neutralize risks before they escalate. 

While NERC CIP-015-1 is a significant undertaking, it’s also an opportunity. With the right strategy and tools like Valkyrie and Cygnet, you can achieve compliance and fundamentally strengthen the security and resilience of your critical infrastructure. 

Ready to turn NERC CIP-015-1 from a challenge into a strategic advantage? Contact Insane Cyber to learn more about Valkyrie and Cygnet or to request a personalized demonstration.