DOE Seeks Your Ideas for Better Grid and Smart Grid Security

Thanks for to my colleagues JSK and SG for initially sending this my way and given the news lately, how timely it is!

A new Department of Energy (DOE) funded project seeks:

... applications to conduct research, development and demonstrations leading to next generation tools and technologies that will become widely adopted to enhance and accelerate deployment of cybersecurity capabilities for the U.S energy infrastructure, including cyber secure integration of smart grid technologies.

The six capabilities DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) would like to see advanced are:

1. Verify the integrity and facilitate deployment of energy delivery control system software and firmware updates
2. Sustain critical energy delivery functions while responding to a cyber-intrusion
3. Detect compromise of supply chain integrity
4. Secure remote access for the energy sector
5. Detect adversarial manipulation of power grid components
6. Innovative technologies that enhance cybersecurity in the energy sector

It would be nice to think all six of these were already fully mature and deployed, but that's not the case. In particular, I like the resiliency aspect of #2, and note that #6 is open ended, to allow for something outside the box of the way we think about these things that could help.

Approximately $20 million is expected to be available for awards. Once you're registered, the full text of this solicitation (DE-FOA-0000797) is available for download at FedConnect.gov.

Responses are due by April 5, 2013 so better get cracking if you've got an idea that could help secure the grid.