U.S. Department of Energy Accepts Three SEL Cybersecurity Projects

Sept. 24, 2013
SEL to Work With Utilities, Universities and National Laboratories to Identify, Design and Test New Solutions

Power system protection, control, monitoring and automation provider Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) submitted three project proposals to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that were created to increase cybersecurity efforts in the energy sector.

The DOE has accepted all three project proposals for its Innovation for Increasing Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) program, according to SEL. The addition of these three projects makes up a grand total of eight projects SEL has worked on for the CEDS program.

Through cybersecurity solution development, integrated planning and focused research, the CEDS program can improve energy delivery systems in the energy sector. SEL plans to work with utilities, universities and national laboratories from across the U.S. to indentify, design and test new solutions that will prevent cyber attacks against critical infrastructures.

Project #1
Goal: "Develop an integrated cyber-physical access control system that simplifies the
process of managing access to energy delivery facilities."
Partners: Tennessee Valley Authority and Sandia National Laboratories

Project #2
Goal: “Develop the world's first control system-focused, software-defined networking flow controller." The completion of this project will allow utilities to manage local area networks (LAN) from a central location with more security. Utilities will have improved real-time awareness of cyber activity and the ability to reroute network traffic when their are cyber intrudors present.
Partners: Ameren, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

Project #3
Goal: "Develop a software-defined data radio integrating existing SEL cybersecurity features." This project will provide additional security for "last mile" wireless communications used with remote energy delivery infrastructure.
Partners: San Diego Gas & Electric and PNNL