DOE releases framework for helping clean energy systems withstand cyber threats

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a framework for building resilient clean energy systems designed to withstand cyber threats.

The DOE’s National Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Strategy encourages incorporating cybersecurity technology early in the design lifecycle of systems to reduce cyber risks and vulnerabilities, including threats by foreign actors. It was announced by Puesh Kumar, director of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), at the 2022 Cybersecurity and Technology Innovation Conference in Portland, Ore., this week.

“Building a powerful and resilient grid that can withstand the full gamut of modern cyber threats begins at the design level,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “Through this strategy, DOE is laying out a framework for ensuring the once-in-a-generation investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law secures our energy sector and delivers a stronger, cleaner electric grid.”

The strategy is organized into five pillars — Awareness, Education, Development, Current Infrastructure, and Future Infrastructure. It seeks to reduce or eliminate cyber vulnerabilities by engineering them out. It also focuses on reducing the likelihood of disruptions to the nation’s critical energy infrastructure even if a cyber-attack is successful.

The effort stems from the National Defense Authorization Act, which directed the DOE to convene a multi-stakeholder working group comprised of senior technical leaders from across government, industry, academia, and the DOE National Laboratories to develop a strategy to defend energy infrastructure from cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities.