The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on July 17, 2023, that it will host a Bioenergy Cybersecurity Workshop, a virtual event organized by Sandia National Laboratories on September 11, 2023, to identify cybersecurity risks in biofuel and bioproduct manufacturing, and develop an approach to address these risks. According to BETO, the workshop will raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity in biomanufacturing safety, operational continuity, and competitiveness. It will consist of panel presentations by bioprocessing and cybersecurity experts. Participants will discuss the state of biofuel and bioproduct cybersecurity practices, and the security of biobased processes to help identify and define cybersecurity technologies and research needed for cybersecure bioenergy production. Workshop objectives will include:

• Exploring the risks and potential consequences to biofuel and bioproduct production that stem from cybersecurity vulnerabilities;
• Discussing the state of practice in biofuel and bioproduct cybersecurity;
• Gathering stakeholder input on what research and development is needed to fill capability gaps in cybersecurity for bioenergy facilities; and
• Building connections across the bioenergy cybersecurity community.