[image-caption title="NRECA%E2%80%99s%20Project%20Guardian%20and%20Cyber%20Champion%20working%20groups%20gathered%20at%20NCEMC%20to%20brainstorm%20the%20framework%20of%20%E2%80%9Ccyber%20champions%E2%80%9D%20to%20advance%20cybersecurity%20at%20co-ops%20nationwide.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20NRECA)" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FProjectGuardian%20WG%20at%20NCEMC%20May25Image%20(2).jpg" /]
What does it mean to be a “cyber champion,” and how can this role empower electric cooperatives to more effectively protect their data and infrastructure from the growing horde of cyberthreats?
That’s what NRECA’s Project Guardian working group is pursuing as part of the $4 million federally funded initiative to bolster cybersecurity across co-op country.
NRECA’s cybersecurity team recently gathered the 19-member Project Guardian working group and the 12-member Cyber Champions working group at North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives in Raleigh. They focused on establishing cyber champions to serve all co-ops and plan to produce a draft framework by year’s end.
“We brainstormed with both the Project Guardian and Cyber Champion working groups and listened to the co-ops to understand their needs and how a cyber champion can impact and mature their cyber culture,” said NRECA Cybersecurity Principal Justin Luebbert.
“Our goal is to identify cyber champions at co-ops to serve, perhaps regionally, as advocates for NRECA’s 20 Co-op Cyber Goals and getting them the resources they need.”
The Project Guardian working group also plans to prepare a report on the legal and liability concerns related to the framework for cyber champions. Legal and safety experts from NRECA presented to the working group, which consists of staff from all departments at distribution co-ops and generation and transmission co-ops of various sizes.
“We’ve seen the lessons learned in how co-ops have built a strong safety culture, and we want to use that knowledge to advance cybersecurity for all our members,” Luebbert said.
The working groups will meet virtually over the next few months and then in-person in November at a co-op location to finalize a draft cyber champion framework that will be sent to the Department of Energy.
Last year, the Project Guardian working group tackled categorizing co-ops by size and cyber maturity to ensure that resources are properly aligned. Other tasks will involve cyber resiliency, self-assessments, tabletop exercises and the expansion of NRECA’s Threat Analysis Center resources.
NRECA launched Project Guardian in 2024 in an agreement with DOE’s Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program and Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER). The project runs through April 2029.
