N.Y. utility and Siemens Energy plan first-of-its-kind cybersecurity research hub

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and a German energy company Siemens Energy announced plans to develop a first-of-a-kind cybersecurity Center of Excellence aimed at improving the defenses against the rising threat of cyberattacks targeting the power grid and other critical infrastructure.

The first-of-its-kind industrial cybersecurity monitoring, research and innovation center will focus on detecting and defending against cyberattacks on critical infrastructure owned and operated by NYPA, the largest state-owned electric utility in the nation.

As part of the effort, NYPA's Advanced Grid Laboratory for Energy (AGILe) and Siemens Energy, Inc. will identify gaps in market ready solutions and establish test bed and demonstration pilots using Siemens Energy, Inc. technologies and processes, in both laboratory and real-world settings. 

The center will be run out of NYPA's Advanced Grid Innovation Laboratory for Energy in White Plains, N.Y., and it is "the first step in bringing together a coalition of public sector, private industry and academic partnerships that will build core capabilities needed to identify new and existing cyber threats, adopt new technologies to protect digital infrastructure," the announcement said.

Source: NYPA