NRECA rolling out new technology to protect electric co-ops from cybersecurity threats

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is working with industry partners to develop new technology to identify and defend against emerging cybersecurity threats.

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, NRECA is working with BlackByte Cyber Security and Referentia Systems on Essence 2.0, technology that monitors for cyberthreats and instantly provides key indicators to utility experts to defend technology systems against emerging threats.

Essence 2.0 continuously assesses power grids for anything out of the ordinary, using a set of algorithms. When unusual circumstances are detected, the technology provides real-time indicators.

“We are choosing partner electric cooperatives to help demonstrate and advance the capabilities of this platform,” Emma Stewart, chief scientist at NRECA, said. “Being able to identify emerging threats in real time is the most important element of this approach so that electric cooperatives and other users can adapt quickly—not weeks later—to protect their systems. Our goal is to gain the most coverage from this technology for protecting the nation’s electric system and providing real-time situational awareness of the grid,” Stewart said. “Essence 2.0 can be used by cybersecurity teams and operating engineers to protect key systems against unknown, emerging threats. No other tool combines this capability for IT and OT collaboration with an awareness on both cyber and physical elements of the power grid.”

The DOE awarded NRECA $6 million to demonstrate that Essence 2.0 is an affordable resource for utilities to protect their systems against cyberthreats. NRECA has already implemented the technology at a few of its co-op partners with plans to expand it to more co-ops.

“As the platform capabilities continue to mature, NRECA and our partners are transitioning this research to have broader industry impact,” Doug Lambert, NRECA’s senior principal for grid solutions, said. “We are coordinating with DOE to support situational awareness on the electric grid and advance research that is forging commercial partnerships with industry for long-term sustainability.”

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives.