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Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô hosted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Region 6 Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Training Workshop from April 15-18. This in-person event brought together professionals from critical infrastructure sectors including energy, utilities, manufacturing, banking, and healthcare to enhance their cybersecurity preparedness and build vital regional collaborations. 

The workshop was presented in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), whose coaches led a series of hands-on and technical courses focused on ICS-specific cybersecurity. The four-day event included Introduction to Control Systems Cybersecurity (101), Intermediate Cybersecurity for Industrial Control Systems (201 and 202), and CyberStrike: Lights Out, a Hands-on workshop for defending against an Operation Technology (OT) cyberattack.

Dr. Helen Lou, professor of chemical engineering at Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô and the Director of the DOE-funded Center for Data Analytics and Cybersecurity (CDAC), noted the broader significance of the event.

“The main goals were to strengthen cybersecurity awareness and capabilities across the industrial control systems sector in CISA Region 6, support regional workforce development, and promote collaboration between industry, government, and academia.”

CISA Region 6 includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. According to Dr. Lou, hosting the workshop "positions Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô and the Center for Data Analytics and Cybersecurity (CDAC) as the regional hub in industrial cybersecurity in Southeast Texas.”

Attendees represented a wide spectrum of sectors, including energy supermajors like ExxonMobil and Shell, refineries and chemical companies such as Motiva, BASF, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Indorama Ventures, and Westlake Chemicals, midstream companies such as Cheniere Energy and Kinder Morgan, utilities like Entergy and Cleco Power, and organizations from healthcare, manufacturing, defense, and municipal government.

Speakers included U.S. Representative Randy Weber, who emphasized the government’s support for cybersecurity workforce development and infrastructure protection, and Mr. George W. Reeves, representing CISA Region 6, who gave an overview of ICS cybersecurity landscape and helped frame the event within the context of Southeast Texas’ evolving role in national cybersecurity and energy resilience.

“Faculty and staff at Lamar, particularly those affiliated with CDAC and TMAC Southeast Texas, the President’s Office, Office of Event Management, and various campus support units played key roles,” Dr. Lou said. Their responsibilities included outreach, coordination, facility management, and integrating the event into Lamar’s broader research and workforce training missions

Collaboration with Sul Ross State University is also instrumental. The workshop was supported by Funding from two DOE grants: a $2 million award to establish CDAC at Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô and a $2.5 million grant awarded to Sul Ross State University to establish a Midstream Critical Manufacturing Industry Cybersecurity Hub, which included a $1.44 million subcontract to Lamar.

"Given the success and strong turnout, the attendees expressed a strong interest in attending this as a recurring or annual event,” Dr. Lou said.

To learn more about the Center for Data Analytics and Cybersecurity at Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô, visit /center-data-analytics-cybersecurity/index.html.