SEEDS Hosts NRECA RC3 Cyber Security Summit

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The Cybersecurity Center for Secure Evolvable Energy Delivery Systems (SEEDS) hosted a National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Rural Cooperative Cybersecurity Capabilities Program (RC3) Cyber Security Summit April 26.

This was the second of five NRECA Cyber Security Summits. SEEDS is a cooperative research center between the College of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering

The summits, open to all NRECA members, are designed for co-op CEOs, general managers, non-IT staff and IT staff involved in making decisions regarding cybersecurity issues. All summits are similar and include discussions on NRECA's $7.5 million RC3 program to assist small- and medium-sized cooperatives as they work to improve the cyber- and physical security of their organizations. The summits have four main areas of focus: Advancing Cyber Resiliency and Security Assessments; Onsite Vulnerability Assessments; Extending and Integrating Technologies; and Information Sharing.

SEEDS is beginning its third year as part of the Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems (CEDS) academic R&D program, which focuses on providing solutions outlined by the "Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity".

At SEEDS, engineering faculty from the U of A, UALR, Lehigh University, Florida International University, Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and engineers with Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation collaborate with members of industry to identify and carry out research projects in the area of cybersecurity technologies for energy delivery systems that are the most relevant to industry needs. SEEDS is a member-driven center, with an Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) made up of interested companies working in energy sector in areas such as electric power, oil and gas and renewable energy resources. Also participating in the center are security system providers and equipment manufacturers.

For more information on SEEDS, contact Shannon Davis, Managing Director, 479-575-6877.  For more information upcoming meetings, contact Karin Alvarado, karina@uark.edu, 479-575-4958.