University unites industry, gov to tighten energy sector cybersecurity

Two professors at Rice University in Houston recently launched a program to bring together cybersecurity professionals, advocates from the local energy community, government and academia to discuss how to protect the nation's power plants from cyberattack. Chris Bronk and Dan Wallach kicked off the multiyear program about six months ago because they recognized stakeholders from the public and private sector were not cooperating to protect the computer networks supporting the nation's critical infrastructure, creating a dangerous situation. Because numerous power companies operate in Texas, the two professors decided to focus first on the energy sector. "We need to get people together and talking about the problem," said Wallach, who teaches in the university's computer science department and specializes in security issues. "All of these companies just want their infrastructures to work, and they want to compete on the assumption that security is not a problem. They all benefit from working together to help address this challenge, because government can't just prescribe a solution."