New Iowa Cybersecurity Center to Protect Grids and Microgrids

Image courtesy of Focal Foto under Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing a $2.5 million grant to Iowa State University to help fund the development of a brand-new, $3.5 million cybersecurity center.  This is part of a broader DOE program that will award a total of $15 million in grants to establish six university-based centers in other states (the other states being Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida and Connecticut).

The new cybersecurity centers will be specifically designed to protect power grids that are integrated with wind power, solar, and other clean energy sources, as well as microgrids.

Details of the Iowa Cybersecurity Center (CyDERMS)

The new Iowa center, to be located on the Iowa State University campus, is called the Center for Cybersecurity and Resiliency of DERs and Microgrids-integrated Distribution Systems (CyDERMS).

The types of assets and infrastructure the center aims to protect include distributed energy resources (DERs) and even virtual power plants (VPPs).  DERs could include those connected to the grid (such as those associated with energy storage technologies, solar farms & wind farms), as well as microgrids which may or may not be isolated.

The CyDERMS will focus on 2 tactical pillars – technology and employee knowledge:

• Develop advanced technological approaches to optimize real-time attack detection and mitigation. These technologies might encompass or involve things such as data algorithms, analytical modeling tools, artificial intelligence software, and machine learning tools.
• Improve industry knowledge around cybersecurity by developing and publishing learning content, conducting hands-on workshops and seminars for employees, holding competitions, etc.  Makes sense given that it’s a university.

I love this idea as it relates to emergency preparedness, and I applaud the DOE for making it happen.  While it’s coming a little later than perhaps it should have, the old adage, “better late than never,” certainly applies.  The bottom line is that the new Iowa cybersecurity center CyDERMS, as well as the ones that will follow, will play a pivotal role in maintaining the integrity of the power grid as we transition to cleaner energy sources.