The Energy Sector Security Consortium (EnergySec) and Oregon State University’s Open Source Lab (OSUOSL) have announced that they will partner to perform strategic research on the current use of open source software in the energy sector, especially as it relates to computer security. OSUOSL will perform case studies looking at leading and influential organizations or projects, the tools they use and the challenges these groups have faced in adopting open source software.

The project is designed to provide EnergySec with baseline data on the use of open source software in the energy sector, especially within the area of cybersecurity, and to produce an inventory of the experienced companies and groups in this space. The aim is to build up a significant body of knowledge regarding how and why energy companies and groups participate in open source, both as users and as contributors.

Organizations interested in participating may email Deborah Bryant, OSUOSL Principal Investigator, at energystudy@osuosl.org. More information on the project is available on the study website at http://energystudy.osuosl.org.