In today’s highly interconnected world, reliable energy delivery requires cyber-resilient energy delivery systems. In fact, the nation’s security, economic prosperity, and the well-being our citizens depends on reliable energy infrastructure. 

CESER advances research, development, and deployment of technologies, tools, and techniques to reduce risks to the Nation’s critical energy infrastructure posed by cyber and other emerging threats. Continuing to increase the security, reliability, and resiliency of our energy infrastructure will help ensure the success of grid modernization and transformation of the Nation’s energy systems. CESER activities include the ongoing support of research, development, and demonstration of advanced cybersecurity solutions, acceleration of information sharing to enhance situational awareness, and technical assistance in the development and adoption of best practices.  

CESER priorities include building the energy sector’s day-to-day operational capabilities to share cyber-incident information, improving organizational and process level cybersecurity posture, and performing cyber-incident response and recovery. The office is also investing in research, development, and demonstration of cross-cutting tools and technologies to help make U.S.  energy infrastructure more cyber-resilient and secure. 

To achieve its energy security mission, CESER works closely with representatives of the energy sector, companies that manufacture energy technologies, the National Laboratories, universities, other government agencies, and other stakeholders.

Industry partners include the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC), the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC), the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council, and industry-led research partnerships. Federal partners include DHS via the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), Science & Technology, and the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC); NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP); DARPA; DOD and others. In particular, CESER is a member of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program that provides a forum for inter-agency coordination of networking and information technology research activities.

As the Sector-Specific Agency (SSA) for electrical infrastructure, DOE ensures unity of effort and serves as the day-to-day federal interface for the prioritization and coordination of activities to strengthen the security and resilience of critical infrastructure in the electricity subsector. Our ongoing collaboration with vendors, utility owners, and operators of the electricity and oil and natural gas sectors strengthens the cybersecurity of critical energy infrastructure against current and future threats.

CESER Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Activities
CESER accelerated efforts to address high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) and geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) risks to the Nation’s energy system.
Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems Research and Development
CESER is investing in the ideas of partners in the Energy Sector, the cybersecurity community, academia, state and local governments, and the National
Cybersecurity Testing for Resilient Industrial Control Systems
CESER works closely with energy sector owners and operators to better detect risks and mitigate them. 
Cybersecurity for the Operational Technology Environment (CyOTE)
Through CyOTE™, CESER looks to further its vision of secure and reliable energy delivery systems nationwide.
Department of Energy CyberForce Program
The U.S. Department of Energy’s  CyberForce Competition™  challenges the next generation of cyber professionals to actively secure critical control.
Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator Program
As we work towards a zero-emissions future, we are also tackling the growing cyber threats to the U.S. energy sector.
CESER's Cybersecurity Priorities
This overview lays out CESER’s five cybersecurity priorities.
OT Defender Fellowship
The Operational Technology (OT) Defender Fellowship is a highly-selective education program created, funded, and led by CESER.
CESER Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) Activities
CESER continues to work to address geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) risks to the Nation’s energy system, particularly the electric grid, in close coordination with federal and industry partners, including the DOE National Laboratories, the DHS and the DoD.
Securing Energy Infrastructure Executive Task Force
Securing Energy Infrastructure Executive Task Force (SEI ETF) evaluates technology and standards for industrial control systems (ICS), identifying new categories of ICS vulnerabilities, and developing a National Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Strategy.