Throughout 2023, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) stayed agile and relevant towards our vision of a secure, reliable, and resilient energy sector for the American people.
Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
January 23, 2024
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Throughout 2023, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) stayed agile and relevant towards our vision of a secure, reliable, and resilient energy sector for the American people. As we move into 2024, that dedication will not change. Read on to see how our accomplishments in 2023 set a strong foundation for 2024:
CESER strived to protect our digital doors from bad actors. As a vital stakeholder in implementing the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, CESER emphasized the criticality of ensuring technologies that support a clean energy future are secure. The CESER-funded Cyber-Informed Engineering Implementation Guide helps engineers use secure-by-design approaches to build critical infrastructure with cybersecurity in mind. CESER’s Cybersecurity Labeling Research Program, funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is developing cybersecurity labeling for clean energy products, potentially enabling Americans to more easily choose smart devices that are safer and less vulnerable to cyber attacks.
CESER worked to equip the current and future energy workforce with the training and tools required to defend and secure U.S. energy systems. CESER supported more than 45 events focused on improving energy resilience, security, and cybersecurity. This included preparedness exercises, like Liberty Eclipse and Clear Path, and workforce trainings, like the OT Defender Fellowship, CyberForce Competition®, and CyberStrike, to increase security and reliability across the energy sector. CESER's Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity (RMUC) Program, funded by BIL, provides an equitable approach to investing in and strengthening smaller utility systems by providing cybersecurity funding and technical assistance. In 2023, CESER released almost $80 million for the RMUC program, including the Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (ACT) 1 Prize Competition, the first in a series of prizes, and a $70 million funding opportunity announcement. CESER’s work also supported energy security, resilience and cybersecurity training, and events attended by more than 4,000 state energy officials, governors, energy advisors, public utility commissioners, state legislators, and emergency managers.
CESER responded to the call to support local teams restoring energy to impacted communities as quickly as possible after an energy emergency. CESER directs the DOE’s emergency preparedness and coordinated response efforts as the lead of the Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12 under FEMA’s National Response Framework. The ESF #12 team was busy in 2023, deploying volunteers to support the energy restoration efforts for seven named storms across the U.S. and territories and helping to identify infrastructure in need of repair.
CESER fostered strong partnerships to find the latest innovations for secure and resilient energy systems. CESER’s Cyber Testing for Resilient Industrial Control Systems (CyTRICS) program partners with manufacturers who contribute technology or equipment to the energy sector supply chain to test and evaluate the components for cybersecurity risks. As of December 2023, six critical energy system manufacturers have submitted 23 important energy systems for CyTRICS testing, moving toward achieving the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy. CESER also worked with 56 state and territorial energy offices to help them submit their State Energy Security Plans.
CESER supported international partners in crisis. CESER played a pivotal role in coordinating a swift and effective electricity subsector and government response when Russia systematically targeted Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure, threatening their grid functionality. Working closely with industry, utilities, National Laboratories, DOE’s Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. interagency, CESER led the team that identified, project-managed, procured, and shipped over 20 tons of electrical equipment on U.S. Air Force cargo planes to help Ukraine’s electric grid and associated essential services.
DOE’s Office of Petroleum Reserves, a division within CESER, worked to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) to ensure economic security and stability. The SPR serves as a crucial tool in ensuring supply is available in the event of domestic and international crude oil supply disruptions. In 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a three-part SPR Replenishment strategy to secure more than 180 million barrels of crude oil by the end of 2023. Through the purchasing of nearly 14 million barrels, the return of exchange barrels, and the cancelation of 140 million barrels, DOE is making significant progress towards this strategy, which underscores the President’s commitment to safeguard and replenish this critical energy security asset.
Looking Ahead to 2024
No matter what 2024 brings, CESER will remain responsive to the evolving needs of the energy sector, its partners, and the world. Sign up for the CESER monthly newsletter to stay in the know throughout the year.