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Published 2:18 am Saturday, March 18, 2023

BATON ROUGE LSU and the largest ports in Louisiana announced a partnership to develop cybersecurity talent and technology for critical infrastructure. The collaborative effort connects the universitys growing strengths in cybersecurity to the ports pivotal role in the global supply chain and in securing food, energy, goods and materials for the nation and world.

The agreement between LSU and its port partners outlines opportunities for students and faculty to work with the ports to solve ongoing and emerging cyber challenges. It includes the potential development of cybersecurity testbeds, which are controllable cyber environments for experiments, and joint research to protect port systems as well as broadened collaboration with state and federal security and law enforcement agencies. Primarily, the partnership unites university and port assets to support homegrown cyber talent development for Louisiana.

Like our students and research expertise, Louisianas port system impacts every corner of the state and has national and global reach, said LSU President William F. Tate IV. TheScholarship First Agendaelevates domains that meet citizens most pressing needs and define Louisianas role in the world. These areas: agriculture, biomedicine, coast, defenseincluding cybersecurityand energy all converge in Louisianas ports. Our designation last year by the National Security Agency, or NSA, as aCenter of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, or CAE-CO, positions us as one of the best and most technical cybersecurity schools in the country, and were now connecting our talented students and experts with our friends here at Louisianas ports to tackle cybersecurity and critical infrastructure challenges across Louisiana.

The five partner ports include Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico and four ports along the Mississippi RiverPort of Greater Baton Rouge, Port of New Orleans, Port of South Louisiana and St. Bernard Portwhich comprise the largest port complex in the world. Louisiana ports carry one-fourth of all waterborne commerce in the United States. Port Fourchon services nearly 100 percent of the Gulf of Mexicos deepwater energy production and secures nearly one-sixth of the countrys oil supply. Statewide, one in every five jobs are reliant on Louisianas ports, which the Ports Association of Louisiana confidently describes as the industry that drives all others.

Louisianas maritime assets create jobs and connect our state to global markets, and the Port of New Orleans is proud to partner with LSU and all Louisianas deepwater ports to raise the cybersecurity bar to ensure the highest levels of protection of our critical port infrastructure now and into the future, said Brandy D. Christian, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, Louisianas only international container port and cruise passenger hub.

Protecting critical infrastructure at the Port of New Orleans is our top priority, said Harbor Police Chief Melanie Montroll. This partnership will advance Harbor Polices existing cybersecurity strategy to protect against the current threat landscape while working to address evolving security needs within our industry.

We appreciate the opportunity to be included in such an important initiative as this one. Our agency has a rich history as a leader in cybersecurity related affairs, as do the other ports we are joined with today for this announcement, said Chett Chiasson, executive director, Greater Lafourche Port Commission. We look forward to assisting with this worthwhile endeavor moving forward because we understand how vital cybersecurity is, for not only our region, but our nation.

The commerce that happens along the Lower Mississippi River at the Port of South Louisiana is intertwined with the national security of the United States, said Paul Matthews, CEO of Port of South Louisiana, Louisianas largest tonnage port and Americas leading grain exporter. This partnership with LSU and our sister ports will ensure that our states infrastructure and assets are protected in this ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

The Port of St. Bernard averages annually over 10 million tons of cargo through our four marine terminals. Given our unique position as a primary bulk handler of everything from metals for advanced manufacturing to fertilizer for our national and state food producers as well as the only place on the Lower Mississippi with a deepwater slip, we fully recognize the importance of cybersecurity and protecting these assets, said Drew Heaphy, executive director of St. Bernard Port. We appreciate the opportunity to participate and look forward to working closely with LSU on talent development and retention, and projects critical to our operations.

The Port of Greater Baton Rouges strategic location on the Mississippi River enables us to handle a diverse range of cargoes critical to the United States agriculture, energy, manufacturing and food production industries. As one of the countrys top ports in total tonnage, we pride ourselves in our ability to adapt to emerging needs, said Jay Hardman, executive director of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. From our docks, we have direct lines of sight to both the Capitol and LSUs campus, so we are well-positioned and excited to work with this group on cybersecurity challenges and talent development.

The Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, signed by LSU and the ports establishes the university as the ports academic research partner. It underscores the importance of strengthening Louisianas cybersecurity expertise by exposing students to real-world cyber challenges. Additionally, the partnership enables LSU and the ports to engage new federal and industry research partners in defense, homeland security, intelligence and related sectors. Finally, LSUs recently announced establishment of student-run Security Operations Centers, or SOCs, on their Baton Rouge and Shreveport campuses, positions the university as a valuable threat intelligence and incident response partner with the ports and the states cyber emergency response functions.

The partner ports are nationally important critical infrastructure assets, reflected in the scale of their operations:

The port partners work closely with state and federal agencies on cyber-related efforts. In 2022, the Port of New Orleans was awarded $514,964 in Port Security Grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to upgrade technology at the Harbor Police Departments Maritime Security Operations Center, which provides surveillance and communications equipment necessary for operational coordination and critical information-sharing with the U.S. Coast Guard and other public safety agencies. LSU and the ports will collaborate on future related cybersecurity funding initiatives.

In 2022, LSU was only the 22nduniversity nationally to be named a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations by the NSA. Federal partners of the NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence program include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Initiative on Cybersecurity Education, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense Office of the Chief Information Officer and U.S. Cyber Command.

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LSU, Port of South Louisiana and others agree to advance cyber ... - L'Observateur