Energy Dept. awards $30M for improved protection against cyberattacks

Sep 20, 2013 (UPI)

Washington - Eleven projects will share $30 million to help better protect the electric grid and oil-and-gas infrastructure from cyberattacks, U.S. energy officials said.

With support from the federal Energy Department, energy organizations in California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington state will develop new systems, frameworks and services that help move forward the department's vision of more resilient energy delivery control systems, the Energy Department said Thursday in a release.

"Keeping the nation's energy flowing is vital to the safety and well-being of Americans, our economic prosperity, and modern society as a whole," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. "To meet the challenges of today's evolving cyber landscape, we must continue investing in innovative, state-of-the-art technologies."

The 11 projects, which will combine advanced expertise in power system engineering and cybersecurity, include testing of the new products to demonstrate their effectiveness and interoperability, Energy Department officials said. Energy delivery control systems are designed and operated specifically to control the physical processes that result in the delivery of continuous and reliable power.