To maintain its leadership in supply chain assurance and to safeguard Canada’s critical energy infrastructure from cyber security threats, Bruce Power will support the University of Waterloo in its development of an enhanced cyber security system.
“Bruce Power recognizes the multiple, complex, and coordinated threats to critical energy infrastructure equipment supply chains, and continually assesses its cyber resilience against state-of-the-art practices,” said Jim Coady, Department Manager, Engineering, at Bruce Power. “Bruce Power strongly supports this project to develop new hardware assurance technology to non-intrusively and non-destructively detect counterfeit parts or devices.”
The innovative hardware assurance system will be developed by the University of Waterloo and can detect compromised parts and devices, ensuring the safety and reliability of Canada’s energy delivery by mitigating risks in its supply chain. Bruce Power will provide equipment, evaluate machine-learning processes and evaluate the overall performance of the new system, while Palitronica Inc., a Canadian cyber security hardware and software company and part of University of Waterloo’s innovation ecosystem, will provide hardware sensors to enable the technology development.
“Our lives have become increasingly digital which means the security threats we face are also becoming digital,” said Hon. Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources. “We’re investing in cutting-edge technologies with universities and industry leaders to protect Canada’s energy sector from cyber threats and keep our critical infrastructure secure.”
The program will be supported with Federal funding of $407,000 provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Cyber Security and Critical Energy Infrastructure Program. The University of Waterloo and Bruce Power also contributed to the project, bringing the total investment to over $830,000.
Mary Wells, Dean, University of Waterloo, notes cyber security is a core area in the university’s research profile.
“We are delighted to employ our research excellence to advance the state of the art in a sector as important to the Canadian public as the energy sector,” said Wells. “Our daily lives depend on the proper functioning of the power grid, and increasing its cyber posture is an important and worthwhile challenge.”
“With the global rise in cyber attacks, protecting Canada’s energy infrastructure has never been as important as it is today,” said Griffin Barnicutt, Co-founder Palitronica Inc,. “We are excited to work with Natural Resources Canada, the University of Waterloo and Bruce Power to demonstrate how our groundbreaking technology enables unprecedented hardware assurance and improves the cyber-resilience of Canada’s energy sector.”
About Bruce Power
Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province. Bruce Power has worked hard to build strong roots in Ontario and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we live. Learn more at www.brucepower.com.
