Dragos founder Rob Lee helped bring free cybersecurity to more than 100 utilities; now his company is joining Accenture and SANS on a $10 million plan to protect up to 500 more US water, power and gas providers

Accenture, the industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos and the SANS Institute have launched the Community Cyber Resilience Foundation. It is a non-profit organisation which will offer small and under-resourced US water, electric and natural gas utilities free help securing their operational technology. In its first phase, the foundation will offer cybersecurity software, hardware, deployment services and SANS training at no cost to up to 500 utilities. The three founders are making an initial combined commitment of about $10 million in funding and services, and the data company Elastic is also supporting the effort.New foundation aims to protect critical infrastructureThe three organisations announced the creation of the Community Cyber Resilience Foundation, a nonprofit initiative designed to provide operational technology (OT) cybersecurity tools, deployment services, hardware support and training at no cost to eligible utilities. The programme targets smaller and under-resourced providers that often lack the funding and workforce needed to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.According to the announcement, the first phase of the initiative will support up to 500 utilities serving communities across the United States. The partners said the combined investment of roughly $10 million will help strengthen services relied upon by more than 100 million Americans.Building on Dragos’ free programmeThe foundation builds on the Dragos Community Defense Program, which already gives more than 100 utilities free access to the Dragos Platform. Dragos was founded by Robert M. Lee, who is its chairman and CEO. Elastic’s role is technical: its Elasticsearch technology provides the main log storage and search engine inside the Dragos Platform, which helps Dragos deliver the software at scale. The foundation was announced at a roundtable on utility cybersecurity in Ohio hosted by Ohio Power Company, an American Electric Power subsidiary, together with Accenture and Dragos.Rob Lee warns of growing threatsAnnouncing the programme, Robert M. Lee said threat actors are increasingly targeting the operational environments that provide essential services to millions of Americans."Adversaries are aggressively targeting utilities, attacking the operational environments that provide life-sustaining services to millions of Americans. Yet many small operators lack the capacity to defend against these threats," Lee said. "The Community Cyber Resilience Foundation gives the utilities that need it most access to cybersecurity resources and training at no cost."What utilities will receiveEligible US-based water, wastewater, electric and natural gas utilities with less than $100 million in annual revenue will be able to apply for the programme. Participants will receive access to the Dragos Platform, deployment and integration support from Accenture, specialised ICS and OT cybersecurity training from SANS, funding for required hardware and infrastructure, and access to a community network of peer utilities.The initiative is also being supported by Elastic, whose technology will help deliver the Dragos Platform at scale to participating organisations.What the executives saidJulie Sweet, Accenture’s chair and CEO, said the work has revealed a widening gap between large operators with the means to invest in cybersecurity and smaller utilities that often lack it. Lee said adversaries are aggressively targeting the operational environments that provide life-sustaining services and that many small operators cannot defend against them alone. James Lyne, SANS’ CEO, said even the best security technology will not protect a utility if its staff cannot use it, which is why the foundation focuses on training. Elastic CEO Ashutosh Kulkarni said his company is committed to helping make advanced capabilities accessible to utilities that could not otherwise afford them.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.