Making sure our nation could withstand a cyber assault on critical systems like power, water, transportation or natural gas is a top priority for the federal government.
As a result, it’s spent the past year collaborating with providers of these critical infrastructures nationwide in order to develop a set of guidelines, best practices and standards to address cyber-security risks.
The project included a series of workshops directing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to “work with stakeholders to develop a voluntary framework for reducing cyber risks to critical infrastructure.”
One of these workshops was held here in San Diego last July, where several ESET security experts joined community leaders, business owners, researchers and other participants for a series of discussions to help develop these guidelines.
Now, the project has been completed. The culmination of a year-long effort that brought together thousands of individuals and organizations from industry, academia and government, the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity was released by NIST two months ago. It’s expected to be a first step in a continuous process to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.
Why the need for such a document in the first place? If your computer gets hacked, you complain. But if the power grid in L.A. gets hacked, it can cause a disaster. Scenarios like hacking a hydroelectric dam and flooding whole valleys by using rogue malware send shivers up the spine, and not just because they make for scary movie plots.
Although the framework is optional, many companies are already adopting its guidelines involving prevention, detection, preparation and recovery planning.
Many of the critical infrastructure organizations here in San Diego were instrumental in developing these crucial guidelines, as were members of San Diego’s Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) - a public-private partnership dedicated to promoting and developing our region’s cyber strengths.
Because when it comes to cyber security, it’s reassuring to know we’re well-prepared.