August 2023 – C.U.R.E.I.T Exercise
The ReCIPE coalition hosted its first exercise designed specifically for the municipal and cooperative electric energy space. The exercise was named The Cyber United: Resilient Electric Infrastructure Training (C.U.R.E.I.T.). It was designed to provide hands-on experiences and mutual aid awareness for defending electric grids against cyber threats. There were two pre-exercise trainings conducted virtually to prepare those participating for the approach and content to be covered.
30 representatives from 20 different utility organizations (investor-owned, electric cooperatives, municipalities) actively participated in this in person hands on exercise at the University of Illinois. External partners from the Illinois Commerce Commission, Department of Justice, National Guards from Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, NRECA, DHS CISA, Argonne National Laboratory, industry associations and others provided on-site support and facilitation.
Objectives: Increase awareness of attack vectors, Introduce defensive tools, Promote team building and cross-functional cooperation, Simulate live threat environment for practicing incident response
Key Successes: Dynamic learning environment that combined training and hands-on practice in simulated operational technology environment, Effective exercise cadence with cycle of training, exercise, and hotwash for immediate application of new knowledge and skills and further team building and mutual assistance through collaboration among participants from different organizations, Flexible format that is adaptable to different objectives and skill levels
Lessons Learned: Consider adjusting time allocation for exercise modules and after-action reviews, Explore options for team building before the exercise, Integrate executive and management roles into future exercises, Optimize complexity levels for diverse skill sets, and Improve utilization of external information sources and injects
Acknowledgements: Illinois’ ITI Design Team was comprised of Matthew Luallen, Casey O’Brien, David Emmerich, Matthew Needham, Logan Marlow, and Dominic Saebeler. Jennifer Summers was responsible for project management and onsite logistics. She was assisted by Dawn Cheek-Wooten.
Principal Investigator Dr. Doug Jacobson and Co-PI Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu from Iowa State University were in attendance and worked closely with the team from the University of Illinois, which was under the direction of Illinois Principal Investigator Dr. David M. Nicol.
The National Security Agency (NSA), through its National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) Program Office, provided funding that made this exercise possible.
The ReCIPE coalition plans to host a second exercise in early 2024.