Collaboration in cybersecurity!

LOGIIC receives USDHS S&T Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Science and Technology

The US Dept of Homeland Security Science & Technology (DHS S&T) Directorate has recognized the work of the Linking the Oil & Gas Industry to Improve Cybersecurity (LOGIIC) consortium, granting it the department’s Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Science and Technology. The award, announced in a communique from the Automation Federation, is presented to organisations that work across boundaries to deliver better service, value and outcomes for customers, stakeholders and communities.

The LOGIIC consortium, comprised of major oil and gas producers along with the DHS S&T Directorate, is working in collaboration to strengthen the security of America’s critical energy sector infrastructure. The Automation Federation is LOGIIC’s host organization. Among members of LOGIIC are BP, Chevron, Shell and Total. The DHS S&T Directorate, mandated by the US Congress to provide innovative problem solving to the scientific and engineering challenges facing U.S. homeland security, has contracted with research and development organization SRI International to provide scientific and technical guidance as well as subject matter expertise for LOGIIC.

“LOGIIC addresses security vulnerabilities in hardware and software in critical industrial control systems,” says Bob Crigler, the Automation Federation’s spokesperson and liaison to LOGIIC. “These changes have had a direct impact on the security of our critical infrastructure on an international scale, and are driving innovative approaches to collaboration among vendors and practitioners."

LOGIIC also has been commended by the DHS S&T Directorate as a unique framework and model for establishing similar consortia across other critical industry sectors