Energy sector cyber defenders need to move faster and work more closely with industry as cyber threats to critical infrastructure intensify, Department of Energy (DOE) cybersecurity chief Andrew McClure said Sept. 10.
Speaking at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit in Washington, D.C., McClure, director of DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), stressed the urgency of strengthening the energy sector’s cyber defenses.
“The national threat assessments have been very clear. Our adversaries are focused on critical infrastructure, and energy is at the top of that list,” McClure said. “So, what we need to be very focused on is driving impact at speed and at scale.”
That urgency is also shaping CESER’s technology investments. McClure said artificial intelligence (AI) ranks among the office’s top three priorities for resources and attention across its portfolio of 32 programs.
CESER is exploring AI for defensive cyber operations, he said, while also working to secure AI systems themselves.
“That’s going to be a big area of focus for us, and there’s a big opportunity for industry to help support us in our mission,” McClure said.
McClure said his office is working with the National Laboratories and commercial partners to move technologies into operational use faster.
“Everything that we will do will be with an eye toward commercialization,” McClure said, adding that CESER plans to work “in a much deeper way than we have in the past” with commercial partners securing the energy sector.
He called on cybersecurity companies and other private-sector partners to contribute.
“Nobody’s coming to save us, right? It’s just us,” McClure said. “It’s just us to get to work, roll up our sleeves, building great companies, hatching ideas, helping partners, helping secure your companies.”
“That’s why this moment could not be any more important,” he added, pointing to CESER’s responsibility for threats ranging from electromagnetic pulse attacks and geomagnetic disturbances to cyber incidents and other hazards.
DOE selected McClure to lead CESER in late July. He said the office is particularly focused on shortening the time required to move promising technologies into the field and partnering with companies and stakeholders “who are ready to move as fast as we are.”
“Everything we are focused on is to drive impact, and where we can work with the commercial sector to move forward and drive faster adoption is where we’re going to invest our firepower,” McClure said.