Cybersecurity at NREL: Preparing for a World of New Tech, New Threats (Text Version)

This is a text version of the video Cybersecurity at NREL: Preparing for a World of New Tech, New Threats.

At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, we’re looking ahead. We see an electric grid without siloes, a diverse energy environment, a power system that is efficient and economic, and a path to get there.

That’s why we’re focused on integrated energy solutions to enable modern systems that are secure, resilient, reliable, affordable, and clean.

We know that the energy systems we rely on are evolving quickly. Hybrid systems are emerging with more renewable and distributed resources – and are relying on increasingly autonomous operations. At the same time, trends like real-time pricing, transactive energy, electric vehicles, and residential solar offer consumers exciting new choices.

But with these evolutions, we know that cybersecurity cannot be overlooked.

As energy systems become more connected, digital, and complex, adversaries that pose threats to our electric grid are evolving too. Defense solutions that introduce security by system design are critical.

At NREL, we’re implementing high-resolution, real-time simulation of energy systems at full complexity, allowing for analysis and evaluation at unprecedented detail.

We’re preparing for a future of new cyber threats by empowering our partners with the decision support and workforce development needed for intelligent design and strong defense. With advanced lab capabilities, we are innovating methods to secure modern energy systems, like artificial intelligence for autonomous threat identification and plug-and-play encryption software for distributed energy resources. 

We’re working with partners in both the public and private sectors to prepare for a world of new technologies and new threats. The capabilities to develop secure energy systems for tomorrow are right here, ready to lead the way.

At NREL, we are transforming energy by incorporating security by design, outpacing the speed of adversaries as we evolve with tomorrow’s energy solutions.


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