Building the Next Generation of Cyber-Informed Engineers and Engineering Designs

Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) is a framework for engineers and technicians to integrate engineering controls that reduce or mitigate the impact of cyber attacks into any physical system used in energy infrastructure or other industries. Key components of the National CIE Strategy are training the next generation of engineers on CIE concepts, and building CIE into the research and development that will shape the next generation of energy infrastructure.  

Integrating CIE Concepts into Education and Training for the Nation’s Engineers  

To date, CESER’s CIE program has partnered with 57 educators from 36 universities in the CIE Community of Practice who have provided input to strategies and resources for building CIE into university-level engineering curriculum. That work has resulted in the CIE Curriculum Guide, which offers guidance and sample resources to help educators build CIE into lectures, courses, and degree programs.  

The Curriculum Guide builds on real-world lessons from partnerships with nine universities that are actively working to integrate CIE concepts into undergraduate and graduate-level engineering coursework, including dedicated CIE courses, certificate programs, and summer training programs.  

What does it look like to integrate CIE into engineering curriculum? The following snapshots offer an overview of how each university has approached the effort: 

• The University of Texas at San Antonio: Developed three case studies that include lab activity to demonstrate the practical application of CIE principles. Also developing a CIE-specific undergraduate certificate program and deployed a CIE design laboratory providing students with hands-on experience and exposure to industry-standard equipment and processes. 
• Auburn University: Developed CIE-focused single classes and lectures within the Digital Sytems Engineering course and Model-Based Sytems Engineering course and integrated CIE modules into the core curriculum of the systems engineering program. 
• Georgia Tech: Integrated lessons from CIE Principles into several single classes and lectures, including the “Cybersecurity of Drones” course, revamped the Online Masters of Cybersecurity Program Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) track with CIE Principles, built CIE into Vertically Integrated Projects Research Program. 
• Boise State University: Built CIE into four 12-credit-hour engineering certificates for cyber-physical systems security; along with three courses for a new computer systems engineering degree, which balances skills from both computer science and electrical engineering.  
• Idaho State University: Addressed CIE principles in several courses and lectures and specifically demonstrated the adoption of CIE principles in hands-on training stations within three courses.  
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Integrated CIE modules within several existing courses in computer science (CS), electrical/computer engineering (ECE), civil engineering, and industrial and systems engineering. Also infused CIE concepts into existing and proposed research projects to cement this concept into the mindset of those exploring designs for future solutions. 
• University of Pittsburgh: Created the new CIE-influenced "Cybersecurity in Emerging Engineering Systems” certificate program and worked with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to launch the SHURE-Grid Program, a CIE “summer camp” that explores the adoption of CIE concepts by energy companies to protect the electric power grid.  
• Lamar University: Integrating industrial cybersecurity (ICS) and CIE principles into the chemical engineering curriculum and the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity degree program.  
• Colorado School of Mines: In Partnership with INL and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), developed a CIE-focused seminar to introduce CIE concepts and principles to its students. /ceser/articles/engineering-cyber-informed-energy-infrastructure 

Read more about each university’s experience in an overview report, Engaging Universities to Integrate Curriculum.  

Integrating CIE into Energy Infrastructure R&D 

The recently released CIE Research and Development Guide supports both researchers and program managers in building CIE into cyber-physical systems R&D, facilitating the creation and adoption of innovative technologies that are secure and resilient by design.  

This guide provides targeted guidance to researchers, innovators, and technology developers through key questions designed to help integrate CIE principles at each stage of R&D. It also includes key assessment metrics to evaluate the effectiveness and level of integration of CIE principles before progressing to the next stage.  

Additionally, this guide offers similar guidance for federal program managers to help them integrate CIE principles into both the execution of research projects within their portfolios and the initiation of new research programs. 

This is the second in a series of blogs highlighting CIE successes. Read the first blog, Engineering a Cyber-Informed Energy Infrastructure.