Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), who introduced the bipartisan Securing our Energy Infrastructure Act, today met with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under Secretary Suzanne Spaulding and Idaho National Lab (INL) Associate Lab Director Brent Stacey to discuss a new technology that will help protect America’s electric grid from cyber-attacks. 

“While the rapid advancement of digital technologies has created many benefits, it has also introduced cyber vulnerabilities to our nation’s critical infrastructure,” said Senator Risch, a member of both the Senate Intelligence and Energy Committees. “Now is the time to proactively address this threat and strengthen our defenses. I share DHS’ and INL’s commitment towards that goal and appreciate the important steps they have already taken.”  

Risch, along with U.S. Senators Angus King, Susan Collins, and Martin Heinrich, introduced bipartisan legislation to safeguard the U.S. from potentially catastrophic cyber threats. The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act would launch a coordinated effort to help protect U.S. infrastructure from the vulnerabilities inherent in a connected and highly interdependent world. In doing so, it seeks to identify better ways to protect the country’s critical control systems – those systems that support some of the most important energy sector processes.

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