About the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response

The U.S. Secretary of Energy delegated federal statutory authorities and responsibility to CESER for protecting the U.S. energy infrastructure. As the designated Sector Risk Management Agency (SRMA), CESER exercises leadership in collaborating with government, industry, and community partners to solve energy security and resilience challenges.

Energy systems face persistent threats that can disrupt service continuity and impact daily life. Physical and cyber security, economic, and geopolitical threats to U.S. energy and the electric grid can have severe and cascading effects.

To counter these effects, CESER teams with industry on mitigation strategies that safeguard and prevent damage to U.S. energy facilities and operating systems.

Threat Landscape

CESER has the preeminent federal role for coordinating with the energy industry to manage security risks effectively and assure consistently reliable electricity across the United States.

The evolving energy sector threat landscape is a major driver for CESER strategic planning.

  • PHYSICAL THREATS - Direct attacks on infrastructure such as vandalism, intentional sabotage, terrorist attacks, natural hazards, and accidents.
  • CYBER THREATS - Digital control system and network breaches, disruptions to operations, data exfiltration, hacking, malware, ransomware, and denial-of-service attacks.
  • ECONOMIC THREATS - Market volatility, under investment, aging infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty, workforce skill shortages, and supply chain interference.
  • GEOPOLITICAL THREATS - International conflicts, civil unrest, political stability, and trade disputes affecting energy systems and supplies.

Energy Sector Dependencies

CESER develops integrated cyber and physical security solutions to meet energy sector-specific needs and cross-sector dependencies.

Energy has vital interconnected infrastructure components, a multi-faceted operational environment, and varied ownership and regulatory structures.

Central to the CESER mission is proactive operational collaboration with industry, federal agencies, international allies, and State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) stakeholders.

Through continuing proactive collaboration, CESER maintains real time situational awareness essential for rapid response to disruptions and crises.