Safeguarding the Nation's Energy Infrastructure

Nearly every aspect of our daily lives ­– from shopping for groceries through a smartphone app to keeping up with friends and family on social media, or relying on smart grid technology to power homes and businesses – is connected to the vast world of the internet. Because of this, it might seem as if there’s nothing we can do to protect ourselves from a cyberattack, but according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, “Everyone has a role in making cyberspace secure.”

That sense of shared responsibility is not only this year’s overarching theme for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but it has also inspired the work of many scientists, including cybersecurity expert Sean Peisert of the DOE’s  Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Peisert is one of thousands of DOE scientists who have dedicated their careers to finding the best solutions to some of our nation’s biggest problems. He is a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Computational Research Division, an associate adjunct professor of computer science at UC Davis, and the chief scientist for cybersecurity for CENIC (Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California).

In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – an annual initiative first launched in October 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to raise awareness about the importance of staying safe and secure online – Peisert discusses new cybersecurity approaches that have the potential to keep our energy infrastructure safe.