INL News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2006

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
INL: Ethan Huffman, 208-521-0370, Send E-mail
SANS: Sonya Ortiz, (808) 245-8088, sortiz@sans.org

Note to News Directors: B-roll footage is available by contacting John Walsh at (208) 526-8646.

Idaho National Laboratory to teach cyber-security courses at SANS SCADA Summit

Beginning tomorrow, several cyber-security and critical infrastructure protection specialists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory will be in Orlando, Fla. to teach courses to computer-security and control system engineers from private utilities on how to better safeguard their computer systems from cyber threats.

The hands-on training sessions – taking place prior to the SANS Institute's Process Control and SCADA Summit – will teach attendees about new and emerging techniques and technology that can better protect the computer systems that operate infrastructures such as the electric power grid, water treatment facilities and telecommunication networks, among others. SANS stands for Systems Administration, Audit, Network, Security Institute. SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.

The Summit will also include presentations and panel sessions by well-known control system experts, including several INL researchers. Commercial vendors will also demonstrate new and innovative technologies and applications for increasing cyber-security measures in control systems.

"The SCADA Summit is a great opportunity for control system owners, operators, and solution providers from private industry to collaborate with experts from SANS, Department of Energy national laboratories, and the Department of Homeland Security," said INL Critical Infrastructure Protection manager Mike Assante. "We want attendees to walk away having learned about what their peers have been able to make work, explore cyber-security mitigation efforts and emerging technology solutions so they are prepared to meet the challenges for securing their control system environments now and in the future."

During the Summit, INL researchers will teach four different training courses, and participate on six panel sessions with topics ranging from SCADA Security Innovations to Vulnerability Mitigation and Measurement. The training sessions will be offered during the Summit by the departments of Energy and Homeland Security at no cost.

Since 2002, INL has had a comprehensive initiative to develop technologies and tools to increase physical and cyber-security measures in critical infrastructure systems. To support the development of these new technologies, the laboratory established a Critical Infrastructure Test Range. The Test Range includes utility scale transmission and distribution systems, SCADA controlled substations, and full integration with the laboratory's SCADA, cyber-security, and communications test beds and research facilities.

Idaho National Laboratory is the Department of Energy's lead nuclear energy research, development and demonstration laboratory. INL conducts sustainable programs in nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration, and national and homeland security. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

About SANS Institute

The Systems Administration, Audit, Network, Security Institute (SANS) is the most trusted and largest source for information security training and certification in the world. More than 54,000 SANS alumni in 43 countries are responsible for all aspects of information security in military and civilian government agencies, in industry and in academia.

SANS also maintains an open library of more than 1,500 unique research documents on 75 aspects of information security, publishes the definitive weekly, quarterly and annual updates of the most critical Internet security vulnerabilities, and operates the Internet's early warning system - Internet Storm Center. SANS faculty are active participants in US cyber-security policy debates and have been invited to testify before both the US House of Representatives and US Senate.

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