No, it's an excellent question and one on which I think much further work needs to be done.
Scrubbing malware from an operating system is utterly unlike re-rigging power lines. There are many fewer people capable of conducting these response operations. Sharing them between utilities could pose additional challenges. Let's remember, at the same time that restoration activities are going to be under way—efforts will be under way to clean up the malware that's been inserted—the infrastructure is also a crime scene. So, in our nation the FBI would want to preserve evidence and would be conducting law enforcement operations at the same time that industry needs to be getting the systems back up and running.
What would be the role of the Canadian government in this, the Department of Public Safety or potentially the Department of National Defence?
I understand how the Department of Defense supported power restoration in hurricane Sandy. We delivered fuel and utility trucks. What is the equivalent role in a cyber-attack in restoring the functionality of the grid when malware has been deposited in our networks?
These are big important opportunities for dialogue between the United States and Canada, with the defence establishments in our two nations playing an important role.