MIT Sloan cybersecurity consortium (IC)3 receives $3.5 million from U.S. Dept. of Energy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today's enterprise cybersecurity defenses are like a bank vault with six-inch-thick steel doors and plywood walls – heavily fortified and terribly vulnerable at the same time. This is how MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Stuart Madnick describes the cybersecurity challenges facing the nation, particularly its energy infrastructure. To address this issue, the U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a $34-million initiative to improve the protection of the U.S. electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure from cyber threats. The MIT Sloan School of Management's Interdisciplinary Consortium for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, (IC)³, directed by Madnick, will receive $3.5 million from the DOE as part of this initiative.

The DOE funding comes through the MIT Sloan Consortium's participation in the University of Illinois Cyber Resilient Energy Delivery Consortium (CREDC), which consists of 11 universities and national laboratories. The CREDC undertakes research, development, education, and outreach activities with industry engagement to develop cyber-resilient energy delivery systems. The consortium seeks to generate research results and take them through to evaluation and deployment of prototypes in industrial settings, with a handoff to the energy sector through licensing, startups, and open-source mechanisms. As part of the DOE's new initiative, the CREDC was awarded $22.5 million with an additional $5.6 million for recipient cost-share. MIT Sloan's (IC)³ will receive $3.5 million of that award plus $1 million for recipient cost-share.

"Cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure is a serious national security challenge. This funding from the DOE will help MIT Sloan's (IC)³ make a deep and lasting impact in this area through interdisciplinary research and industry partnerships," says MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein.

Patricia Hoffman, assistant secretary for DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, says, "Cybersecurity is one of the most serious challenges facing grid modernization, which is why maintaining a robust, ever-growing pipeline of cutting-edge technologies is essential to helping the energy sector continue adapting to the evolving landscape. To meet this challenge, we must continue investing in innovative, next-generation technologies that can be transitioned to the energy sector to reduce the risk of a power disruption resulting from a cyber incident." 

MIT Sloan Prof. Stuart Madnick, director of (IC)³, observes, "We are facing a global crisis with the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure that requires collaboration across a range of disciplines to find solutions. We are very pleased to be a major partner in the CREDC and appreciative of the DOE funding, which will facilitate our work in this area."

University of Illinois Prof. David Nicol, CREDC principal investigator, notes that the CREDC will focus on making energy delivery systems resilient to cyber-anomalies, whether accidental or from malicious intent. "The challenge is that increased efficiencies and capabilities in energy delivery rely on greater use of computers and communication networks, which simultaneously raises the potential for serious problems."

In addition, the CREDC will look at business aspects of cyber resiliency. Nicol explains, "A major impediment to more resilient systems is the cost of upgrading legacy equipment. Researchers will identify reasons for companies to invest in new technology and design models that will help businesses choose the most cost-effective, high-impact solutions."

(IC)³, which is pronounced "IC-cube", focuses on the strategic, managerial, and operational issues related to cybersecurity. It includes diverse and interdisciplinary faculty with professors from MIT Sloan as well as the departments of Political Science, Aeronautics, Civil Engineering, and Computer Science. The initiative also works in collaboration with industry partners across the entire infrastructure value chain. Partners include companies, such as ExxonMobil in the discovery and processing of energy, Schneider Electric in the development of systems to control energy, automation, and manufacturing, and NextNine which provides cybersecurity software for hardening industrial control systems.

Madnick and MIT Prof. Munther Dahleh, director of the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, will be the co-principal investors for MIT's activities through the CREDC. They note that some planned projects at (IC)³ include:

• developing metrics and models for organizations for cyber-risk analysis, better protection, and return on investment calculations;
• applying lessons learned from "accident" prevention research to prevent cybersecurity failures;
• simulation and modeling of cybersecurity resilience;
• developing incentives for more effective information sharing; and
• measuring and increasing corporate (cultural) adoption and top-management commitment to cybersecurity efforts.

MIT Sloan's (IC)³ is one of three cybersecurity programs at MIT. The other two programs are Cybersecurity and Internet Policy Initiative (CIPI), focused on policy, and Cybersecurity@CSAIL, focused on improved hardware and software. For more information on (IC)³, please visit: http://ic3.mit.edu

For more information on MIT Sloan Prof. Stuart Madnick please visit: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/detail.php?in_spseqno=12590

The MIT Sloan School of Management is where smart, independent leaders come together to solve problems, create new organizations, and improve the world. Learn more at mitsloan.mit.edu.

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SOURCE MIT Sloan School of Management