Tag Archive for: Grid

ORNL targets electric grid security, EV battery charging

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are taking innovative steps to meet energy challenges of national interest.

Richard Raines, director of the Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, takes U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, right, on a tour of GRID-C at ORNL's Hardin Valley campus in Knoxville, Tenn., on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Raines recently spoke to a Friends of ORNL audience about electric vehicles, batteries and more.
In November 2021, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (beige coat, lower left corner) visited ORNL’s Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C) and learned about its building-to-grid and vehicle-to-grid research from ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia (bottom) and Richard Raines, director of ORNL’s Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division, which has 150 staff, mostly engineers.

They are addressing the following questions.

How can the efficiency and resilience of the U.S. electric grid be improved? Can the grid be better protected from weather-related outages and cyberattacks?

Can American batteries be manufactured using materials from domestic rather than foreign sources? Can they be recharged faster? And, can spent batteries and their materials be reused, recycled and kept out of landfills to protect the environment?

Rick Raines speaks to Friends of ORNL via Zoom on ORNL research on electric grid resilience and security and on the manufacture, charging and recycling of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and the grid.

Can high-power battery charging technology be embedded in parts of interstate highways so potential consumers of electric vehicles (EVs) will be less concerned about driving range and the availability of battery recharging stations?

In a recent talk to Friends of ORNL, Richard A. Raines, director of ORNL’s Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division, said, “We are making a difference. We are developing capabilities in the lab that are being field tested.”

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More from CISA on Holiday Bear’s tactics. Efforts towards securing the US power grid.

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The Ease of Tracking Mobile Phones of U.S. Soldiers in Hot Spots (WSJ) The armed forces are facing a challenge of how to protect personnel in an age when highly revealing data are being bought and sold in bulk, and available for purchase by America’s adversaries.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Cyber Operations: Trends and Best Practices for Network Defenders (CISA) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) assess Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) cyber actors—also known as Advanced Persistent Threat 29 (APT 29), the Dukes, CozyBear, and Yttrium—will continue to seek intelligence from U.S. and foreign entities through cyber exploitation, using a range of initial exploitation techniques that vary in sophistication, coupled with stealthy intrusion tradecraft within compromised networks.

Federal Agencies Detail Russian Tactics Used in Recent Cyber Intrusions (Nextgov.com) The FBI, Homeland Security Department and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert on Russian government cyber tradecraft and mitigation techniques for targets.

FBI, CISA Warn of Ongoing Russian Cyberthreats (Bank Info Security) The FBI and CISA are warning of continued cyberthreats stemming from Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, which the Biden administration formally accused

CISA Calls for Emergency Actions: VPN Compromise Targets U.S. Defense Sector (ClearanceJobs) Ivanti’s Pulse Connect Secure VPN compromise puts at risk the U.S. defense industrial base and other executive branch agencies.

FBI-DHS-CISA Joint Advisory on Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Cyber Operations (Homeland Security Today) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security, and CISA have released a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) addressing Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) cyber actors—also known as Advanced Persistent Threat 29 (APT 29), the Dukes, CozyBear, and Yttrium—continued targeting of U.S and foreign entities.

US warns of Russian state hackers still targeting US, foreign orgs (BleepingComputer) The FBI, the US Department of…

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Reactions to the US sanctions against Russia. Sweden and the GRU. Export controls on personal data. Power grid security.

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At a glance.

  • Reaction to the US sanctions against Russia.
  • Sweden thinks the GRU did it, but that there’s no point in prosecuting individuals.
  • Export controls on US personal data?
  • Emerging US policy for enhancing power grid security.

The carrot as the stick: more reactions on the US response to Russian hacking.

The Biden Administration’s much-anticipated response to Holiday Bear’s tear was coupled with an invitation to improve bilateral relations, as SecurityWeek observes. President Biden gave President Putin a heads up about the measures and pitched a summer summit, according to NBC, claiming this “is the time to de-escalate” and expressing the desire to dodge a “downward spiral.” Secretary of State Blinken clarified that Washington seeks “opportunities for cooperation, with the goal of building a more stable and predictable relationship.” Breaking Defense recounts Stanford researcher Herbert Lin’s doubts that the sanctions will steer Moscow towards better behavior, as the Kremlin promises an “inescapable” riposte.  

Atlantic Council notes that the response “leave[s] room for escalation,” for example against Kremlin “cronies,” though the measures have already had significant economic impact. (Foreign Policy mentions that some anticipated stronger action, finding the fiscal policy “timid,” since the more important secondary market for Russian debt was left alone.) Council contributors characterized the move as “big politics,” in contrast to available incremental alternatives, explaining that the approach takes on “Putinism” writ large. They worried, however, that the message delivered was not one of resetting relations, and the simultaneous Black Sea and Nord Stream 2 backtracking, which the Moscow Times and Politico detail, send mixed signals about the US’ resolve.  

In the Administration’s view (via NBC), the reaction was “resolute but proportionate” and preserved the opportunity for mutually beneficial partnership. On Moscow’s view, per Foreign Policy, President Biden is “trying to destroy relations between the two countries.” Others—without holding out hope for a productive reply from Russia— see in the approach a direct…

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National Grid giving development grant to Dunkirk firm

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National Grid is providing a $750,000 economic development grant to support a major expansion at Wells Enterprises Inc.’s Dunkirk manufacturing facility. Wells is planning an $87 million project to add manufacturing lines and up to 70 new jobs. NYPA and New York State, through the Excelsior Jobs Program, are also providing incentives to support the project.

USA Today is recognizing the Buffalo Niagara International Airport as one of the best small airports in the country.  That designation refers to any facility serving under 10 million passengers annually.  BNIA was praised for friendliness, ease of use, amenities and flight offerings.

Trocaire College has announced new IT course offerings.  Beginning February 15th, Trocaire will offer a 12-week IT Career Jump Start program.  Also offered online is a 36-week IT Career Reboot program.  That begins March 1st,  with the initial 12 weeks mimicking the Jump Start program, then building on those introductory skills to cover things like cloud technologies,  networking and the foundations of computer security.  For more information on either program or to enroll, visit trocaire.edu/wd

Buffalo-based Ognomy, a telemedicine platform for diagnosing, testing and treating sleep, has appointed Greg Ross as Chief Operating Officer.

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