Operational Technology Cybersecurity Collaboration Center
ScottMadden experts support grant-funded research in the energy industry, helping advance science by building project and portfolio management organizations, outlining project strategy, defining governance, and facilitating efficiency and ease in collaboration, compliance, and reporting.
Immersive Research Ecosystem
Helped stand up a cybersecurity collaboration center designed to support sophisticated testing for innovative OT cybersecurity tools, practices, and training methods
Workforce Pipeline
Testing environment permits hands-on training for students and early professionals, strengthening workforce development
Regional Collaboration
Engaged stakeholders from federal regulators, utilities, solution providers,
Challenge
The Southeastern Energy Reliability Center (SERC3), led by Auburn University in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and industry collaborators, was established under a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award to strengthen the resilience, reliability, and security of the U.S. power grid. A core priority of the program is to advance applied research and workforce development in operational technology (OT) cybersecurity, distributed energy integration, and critical infrastructure resilience. Auburn engaged ScottMadden to support the design and implementation of the program’s OT Cybersecurity Collaboration Center—an experimental ecosystem that mirrors real-world utility environments. The objective was to provide a testbed for advanced cybersecurity technologies, support research and demonstration activities, and create hands-on training opportunities for students, utilities, and industry professionals.
Process
- Conducted stakeholder workshops and developed a strategic five-year plan, phased OT technology roadmap, and technology transfer and workforce initiatives with real-world utility needs and OT challenges
- Designed conceptual architectures and developed technical specifications to emulate industry OT environments spanning generation, transmission, distribution, and distributed energy resources (DER)
- Supported vendor evaluation and selection through technical capability assessments, alignment with project requirements, and procurement coordination
- Led integration and configuration efforts across networking and OT equipment to reflect industry architecture, including interconnection planning, routing protocols, and firewall configurations
- Developed a program to convene industry, academia, and government stakeholders to advance OT workforce development, policy alignment, and technology transfer
Result
- Strengthened workforce pipeline: Established test environments that enable students and industry professionals to gain practical experience with real-world grid equipment and OT cybersecurity tools
- Advanced OT cybersecurity readiness: Enabled rigorous testing of vendor solutions, validation of emerging and existing security practices, and accelerated adoption of resilient architectures
- Built regional collaboration: Created a sustained forum and industry advisory board for utilities, solution providers, academia, and researchers to collaborate on OT cybersecurity and grid resilience challenges
- Supported DOE mission impact: Delivered a foundational OT cybersecurity capability that directly supports SERC3’s goals to enhance grid security, enable energy innovation, and prepare the next-generation energy workforce
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