DOE preparing for Summit & cyber-attacks according Secretary Perry

AUSTIN, Texas - Rick Perry returned to Austin Monday to speak before the annual cyber conference held by the department of energy.  

During the gathering he said the agency is preparing for what may come out of the upcoming summit between President Trump and the leader of North Korea.

"This agency is one of the most fascinating ones in government, it has its tentacles into a substantial amount of work that’s going on globally.  As we prepare, hopefully to denuclearize the Peninsula of Korea, the DOE will play a very pivotal role in the verification work that will deal with that very challenging issue,” said Secretary Perry.

The need for the DOE to be prepared increased Monday. North Korea's leader- Kim Jong Un- replaced three top military leaders with younger officers. Analysts say it may have been done to remove old guard opposition to any disarmament deal, or to simply prevent a coup while he is at the summit.

The main reason why Perry is at this conference is to talk about how his Agency is planning to protect the country's infrastructure. Things like Power Plants. Electrical Grids and pipelines. Perry told those at the conference the cost of cyber-attacks in the U.S. is already staggering.

"The threat is not new, but it is growing."

According to a recent report by the Council of Economic Advisors, in 2016 the cost ranged between $57 Billion and $109 Billion. Perry indicated the challenge is to out innovate individual hackers as well as state sponsored programs. North Korea- for example, has recently been tied to several cyber-attacks.

"The sustained and growing threat of cyber-attacks to our energy infrastructure requires us to think differently, to act proactively,” said Perry.

To do that the Department of Energy has created the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. The goal is to harden power grids, prepare for attacks and shorten recovery periods.

"But funding cutting edge research won’t get the job done by itself, we also need people, we need to raise up the next generation of cyber professionals,” said Perry.

To help develop those new professionals, Perry said the DOE will continue to promote STEM programs in schools.