A funding opportunity focuses on next-gen tools to reduce cyber incidents
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced an $8 million investment in “innovative approaches” to “enhance the reliability and resilience of the nation’s energy infrastructure,” including production, refining, storage and distribution of natural gas.
The partnership opportunity will spur the development of next-generation tools and technologies that are not available today but will likely become “widely adopted” throughout the energy sector to reduce cyber incident risk, according to the DOE.
“Through this funding opportunity, we will accelerate efforts to strengthen our nation’s energy infrastructure against cyberattacks and ensure a more secure, resilient and reliable energy delivery system,” U.S. Undersecretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes said in a DOE news release.
Projects are intended to advance the production, refining, storage and distribution of oil and natural gas by enhancing the ability to survive a cyberattack while sustaining critical energy delivery functions, the DOE said.
This funding opportunity supports the administration’s directive to secure critical infrastructure as outlined in the National Cyber Strategy, through research and development of real-time intrusion detection, self-healing energy delivery control systems and innovative technologies that enhance cybersecurity in the energy sector.