The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced 20 cybersecurity projects aimed at enhancing the reliability and resilience of the American electric grid, and oil and natural gas infrastructure through “innovative, scalable and cost-effective research and development of cybersecurity solutions.”
The electricity system must continue to evolve to address a variety of challenges and opportunities, from severe weather to cyber-threats, a changing mix of types of electric generation, the ability for consumers to participate in electricity markets, the growth of the Internet of Things and the aging of the electricity infrastructure. These technologies are tasked with having broad applicability to the U.S. energy delivery sector by being cost-effective, with a clear path for acceptance by asset owners and operators.
The effort continues the DOE’s goal of working closely with public and private partners on the Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity. It lays out a vision of resilient energy delivery systems that are designed, installed, operated and maintained to survive a cyber incident while sustaining critical functions.
Since 2010, DOE has invested more than $270 million in cybersecurity research, development, and demonstration projects that are led by industry, universities and DOE’s National Laboratories.
In an ancillary development, the Energy Department also announced awards of up to $50 million to DOE’s National Laboratories to support early stage research and development of next-generation tools and technologies to further improve the resilience of critical energy infrastructure.
“A resilient, reliable, and secure power grid is essential to the Nation’s security, economy, and the vital services that Americans depend on every day,” said Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. “As round-the-clock efforts continue to help communities recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the need to continue strengthening and improving our electricity delivery system to withstand and recover from disruptions has become even more compelling. By leveraging the world-class innovation of the National Laboratories and their partners, this investment will keep us moving forward to create yet more real-world capabilities that the energy sector can put into practice to continue improving the resilience and security of the country’s critical energy infrastructure.”
Have you registered for Infosecurity North America taking place in Boston, 04-05 October 2017? For the full agenda, speaker list and more information, please visit https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/conferences/infosecurity-north-america/