Workshop Archive

This workshop covered key topics such as the integration of advanced sensing and communication technologies, effective data management strategies and robust control mechanisms essential for maintaining grid stability amidst increasing complexity.

Participants explored the critical differences between Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) security and learn best practices for fostering a resilient and secure smart grid.

Presenters

• Anurag K. Srivastava, Ph.D., Raymond J. Lane Professor and Chairperson at West Virginia University, and director of the Smart Grid Resiliency and Analytics Lab (SGREAL)
• Venkatesh Venkataramanan, Ph.D., Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory specializing in cyber-physical systems.
• Barry Jones, Supervisor, Cybersecurity & Information Assurance, Information Technology, WAPA.
• VP Industrial Security, Waterfall Security Solutions, VP Industrial Security, Waterfall Security Solutions

DER Edge Security Bootcamp is a three-day virtual bootcamp hosted by Center for Cyber Security Research,  IEEE PES and IEEE PELS Student Chapter Red River Valley designed for high school, college and graduate students interested in AI, ethical hacking and cyber defense. Students will explore real-world use cases, develop hands-on skills and gain mentorship from UND faculty and researchers.

Collaborators

• George Mason University
• West Virginia University
• University of Arkansas
• Amazon Web Services
• Grafana
• Kafka
• Kubernetes
• Lambda
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• NVIDIA
• MongoDB
• Suricata
• tcpdump
• National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity
• Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Community

Objectives

• Edge Device and Network Foundations
• Federated Learning and Unlearning Environment
• Cyberattacks and Penetration Testing

If a cyber-attack makes a boiler in power plant over pressurize and explode. Which mitigation for that cyber risk would you prefer? Addressing cyber risks to physical operations takes more than cybersecurity. The engineering profession has managed physical risks and threats to safety and public safety for over a century but is only beginning to come to grips with cyber threats and beginning to appreciate the unique role of the profession in OT cyber risk management.

Presenter

Andrew Ginter, VP Industrial Security, Waterfall Security Solutions

Objectives

• Brief introductions to basic automation engineering and cybersecurity concepts.
• An overview of the threat landscape - public reports of cyber-attacks with physical consequences are growing exponentially.
• An introduction to Cyber-Informed Engineering and the body of knowledge being assembled there.
• A few words on modelling risk, and why “standard” risk models need updating.
• An introduction network engineering, which lives at consequence boundaries - and the boundary between engineering and cybersecurity.
• An introduction to Secure Operations Technology - a collection of the most commonly applied network engineering techniques. Join us for a whirlwind tour of the leading edge of OT cybersecurity thinking

About the Workshop

Highlighting the specific challenges that arise from the growing automation of the power grid. It aims to examine power system failures resulting from: cyber security threats, human error, and complex interdependencies, while also investigating innovative ideas and research to strengthen control system resilience.

Collaborators

• Idaho National Laboratory
• Idaho State University
• University of Idaho
• C2SR (UND)

Objectives

1. Establish a perspective on the unique challenges of automation in our society.
2. Provide insight on how a power control system works and how it can fail - including threats from cyber security, human error and complex interdependencies.
3. Provide introduction to promising concepts that the resilient controls community is currently researching to make these control systems more resilient to these threats.
4. Provide an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of critical infrastructures and the beginning of skills required to converse in the “languages” of some of those disciplines.
5. Encourage projects that engage in the areas of resilient control systems as demonstrated through project papers and presentations.