Under the auspices of the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Assurance, national laboratories study control system vulnerabilities Tucked away in southeastern Idaho lies the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), an 890-square-mile site that has operated for more than five decades. The site’s infrastructure (which includes nuclear reactors, chemical processing facilities, a 50-megawatt power grid and other key critical infrastructure elements) allows for the testing ofamong other thingsSCADA systems and security technologies in a real, integrated environment.INEEL, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, is currently developing a national SCADA testbed. The plan, says Ken Watts, director of infrastructure and defense systems, is that vendors will agree to have their SCADA and process control systems tested for vulnerabilities. After that, it will be the vendor’s responsibility to bring that knowledge back to the industry. (The eight-year, $114 million program has hit some bumps recently due to funding constraints.)Sandia, which began its SCADA research program in 1998, has also developed two educational courses around the design of secure SCADA systems and assessing the vulnerabilities of systems, and has offered those courses to utility representatives. Juan Torres, program manager of the SCADA program, says Sandia is working with DHS and others to develop a national strategy for process control security. Related content news UK government plans 2,500 new tech recruits by 2025 with focus on cybersecurity New apprenticeships and talent programmes will support recruitment for in-demand roles such as cybersecurity technologists and software developers By Michael Hill Sep 29, 2023 4 mins Education Industry Education Industry Education Industry news UK data regulator orders end to spreadsheet FOI requests after serious data breaches The Information Commissioner’s Office says alternative approaches should be used to publish freedom of information data to mitigate risks to personal information By Michael Hill Sep 29, 2023 3 mins Government Cybercrime Data and Information Security feature Cybersecurity startups to watch for in 2023 These startups are jumping in where most established security vendors have yet to go. By CSO Staff Sep 29, 2023 19 mins CSO and CISO Security news analysis Companies are already feeling the pressure from upcoming US SEC cyber rules New Securities and Exchange Commission cyber incident reporting rules don't kick in until December, but experts say they highlight the need for greater collaboration between CISOs and the C-suite By Cynthia Brumfield Sep 28, 2023 6 mins Regulation Data Breach Financial Services Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe