DOE announces $45 million investment for cybersecurity research

DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) announced $45 million for 16 projects to strengthen cybersecurity across the electricity, oil, and natural gas sectors, focusing on AI-driven detection and response, automated vulnerability assessment for distributed energy resources, zero-trust quantum-resistant authentication, and secure quantum communications for time-sensitive grid operations; the effort aligns with broader U.S. initiatives to harden critical infrastructure amid concerns like Volt Typhoon and follows prior DOE funding to bolster clean energy cybersecurity and risk research.