The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has introduced a new program designed to bolster the cybersecurity of electric utilities' industrial control systems (ICS).
The initiative is a coordinated effort between DOE, the electricity industry, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to protect critical systems essential to U.S. national and economic security from cyber attacks.
The initiative encourages owners and operators to implement measures or technology that enhance their detection, mitigation, and forensic capabilities. It includes concrete milestones over the next 100 days for owners and operators to identify and deploy technologies and systems that enable near real-time situational awareness and response capabilities in critical ICS and operational technology networks. Also, it would enhance the cybersecurity posture of critical infrastructure information technology networks.
The new initiative is supported by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).
Cybersecurity is viewed as the responsibility of both industry and government, and EEI and its member companies coordinate through the CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) to prepare for, and respond to, disasters and/or threats to critical infrastructure, EEI President Tom Kuhn explained.
The DOE also has released a new Request for Information (RFI) to seek input from electric utilities, energy companies, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders to protect the supply chain in U.S. energy systems. Responses to the RFI are due by June 7.
