The Israel-U.S. Initiative on Cybersecurity Research and Development for Energy (ICRDE)
As companies and government infrastructures from around the world face increasing cyber-attacks, two countries have joined forces to help prevent these catastrophic invasions. Known as the Israel-U.S. Initiative on Cybersecurity Research and Development for Energy, or ICRDE, this unique consortium will help combat attackers on energy producers by focusing their efforts on three key areas.
- Establishing a knowledge database of cyberattacks and developing predictive models
- Develop new monitoring technologies and tools
- Design tools to achieve resilience and robustness in futureproof architecture
To head up this ambitious endeavor, two universities have been selected to jointly oversee the research and development: Arizona State University in the U.S. and Ben-Gurion University in Israel.
Electrical engineering Assistant Professor Yang Weng will take the lead for ASU. His team includes renowned cybersecurity researchers Associate Professor Lalitha Sankar and Regents Professor Ying-Cheng Lai.
“The collaborative goal is to leverage the core competencies of each partner on artificial intelligence (AI) and to deliver transformative cybersecurity solutions for Israel and the U.S., opening global markets for ICRDE technologies,” says Weng.
The Director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering Stephen Phillips is excited to see this collaboration come together.
“As we see the technology boom happen here in the Phoenix area, we are reminded of the cybersecurity vulnerabilities that come with that type of growth.” Phillips says. “The efforts of the consortium are coming at a much-needed time.”
ICRDE is part of the U.S.-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology, or the “Energy Center”. The goal of the energy center is to promote energy security and economic development through the research and development of innovative energy technologies while facilitating cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli companies, research institutes and universities. The four areas of focus include fossil energy, energy storage, energy cyber and energy water-nexus.
The overseer of the Energy Center is the BIRD Foundation. BIRD is an acronym for Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development. The BIRD Foundation’s mission is to stimulate, promote and support industrial R&D of mutual benefit to the U.S. and Israel.