Education Dept. allocates $15 million to six university energy cybersecurity centers
Six university-based electric power cybersecurity centers received $15 million in funding to foster energy security research and provide cybersecurity education programs, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday.
“This investment in university-based cybersecurity centers will enable us to simultaneously grow the U.S. cyber workforce and build the expertise we need to take on the evolving cyber threats to our nation’s energy systems,” Puesh M. Kumar, director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, said in a press release. “The U.S. competitive advantage has always depended on cutting-edge research and a high-skilled workforce. Through these projects, we are advancing our economic and national security.”
The university programs will work with energy sector owners and operators, vendors and the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories. These partnerships are intended to support the cyber centers to research cybersecurity capabilities of each region’s electricity system, network of infrastructure and workforces.
The six universities selected to receive this funding are The University of Connecticut, Iowa State University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Texas Tech University and Florida International University.
