Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Mike Carey (OH-15) reintroduced their Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act, bipartisan legislation to address the rise in cybersecurity threats and attacks against energy infrastructure, including clean energy. This legislation was inspired by incidents such the ransomware attack on the Colonial Gas Pipeline.

Specifically, the bill will create an Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Program, which will provide grants and financial assistance to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers studying cybersecurity and energy infrastructure. This legislation will both bolster the energy sector workforce and strengthen our country’s ability to address future cyberattacks.

“Protecting our nation’s energy infrastructure requires investing in the people who protect it,” said Congresswoman Ross. “I’m proud to represent much of the Research Triangle, home to institutions and universities that are leading our nation’s innovation in cybersecurity and clean energy. This bipartisan bill will equip students and researchers with the tools they need to tackle cyber threats, and I appreciate Congressman Carey’s continued partnership on this critical issue.”

“Growing cybersecurity threats from across the globe demand action that will protect our nation’s energy grid,” Rep. Carey said. “The Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership program will allow for Ph.D. and graduate students to dedicate research to improving our national security and preventing large scale cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure, including our national power grid. I am proud to work with Rep. Ross on this legislation and look forward to it passing.”

Many cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the energy sector are only discovered once they have already been exploited in attempted or successful attacks. Compounding the issue, America’s energy infrastructure is growing more susceptible to advanced methods of cyberattack as the energy sector integrates increasingly complex technologies. A robust energy cybersecurity workforce will help the energy sector better prepare for, respond to, and combat this growing threat environment.

The Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act addresses these workforce and research needs by creating a grant program at the Department of Energy that:

• Provides financial assistance for scholarships, fellowships, and R&D projects at colleges and universities to support graduate students studying the convergence of cybersecurity and energy infrastructure
• Provides students and postdoctoral researchers with traineeship research experience at the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories and utilities
• Expands outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities

Additionally, the bill requires that the Secretary of Energy submit a report to Congress on the development and implementation of the program no later than one year after bill enactment.

Representatives Ross and Carey previously introduced the legislation during the 117^th and 118^th Congresses, and it passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support both times. Bill text is available here.