The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $15 million investment in a university-based power center aimed at strengthening cybersecurity in the energy sector. Six universities selected by the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) will receive funding to work on cybersecurity research and training efforts in collaboration with industry stakeholders and DOE national laboratories. . These centers will integrate multidisciplinary expertise to develop region-specific cybersecurity capabilities tailored to power systems, infrastructure, and workforce skills. The University of Connecticut will focus on mitigating cyberattacks on distributed energy resources (DERs), and Iowa State University will aim to strengthen the resiliency of electrical grids, including DERs and microgrids. The University of Pittsburgh will leverage digital twins to assess the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures, and the Illinois Institute of Technology will address cybersecurity challenges for DERs and microgrids. Texas Tech University develops a framework to mitigate the cyber-physical attack stage with a focus on DER integration in local utilities, and Florida International University researches moving target defense techniques to prevent cyber-attacks intend to do something. Additionally, these centers offer cybersecurity education programs to train energy professionals to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats.
More information: https://www.securityweek.com/energy-Department-invests-15-million-in-university-cybersecurity-centers/
