By Jeff Zacuto, Senior Director of Commercial Marketing
The security and resilience of the digital and operational technology (OT) systems that make up our critical infrastructure have become paramount concerns for national security, economic stability, and public safety. Recognizing this, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken a proactive stance with a comprehensive memorandum urging public and private entities to fortify the nation’s essential systems and assets—from energy grids to transportation networks and beyond.
Why This Matters
The infrastructure that underpins daily life in the United States is not just a collection of physical and virtual assets; it is the backbone of the economy, a pillar of national defense, and a cornerstone of public health and safety. The incapacitation or destruction of this infrastructure could have devastating effects on society, ranging from economic turmoil to threats to human life. Given the complex and interdependent nature of our nation’s modern infrastructure, ensuring it remains secure and resilient against cyberattacks is not just prudent but critical.
The administration’s initiative reflects a commitment to defend against immediate and discernible threats and anticipate and prepare for future challenges. This strategy includes adapting to the impacts of climate change, managing the risks of cutting-edge technologies, and countering strategic threats from global adversaries. The administration’s goals include:
- Strengthening the nation’s ability to prevent, withstand, and quickly recover from major disruptions.
- Encouraging a unified effort across federal, state, local, tribal, and private sectors to enhance the security framework.
- Establishing a clear and coherent strategy that effectively leverages governmental and private sector resources.
This comprehensive approach creates a resilient infrastructure that supports a secure, innovative, and economically vibrant United States. It underscores the administration’s recognition of the intertwined nature of security and prosperity and its determination to address these challenges head-on, ensuring the well-being and safety of all Americans in an increasingly interconnected and dynamic world.
Minimum Security and Resilience Requirements
The memorandum emphasizes establishing and enforcing minimum security and resilience requirements across critical infrastructure sectors. Here are the key points outlined regarding these requirements:
- Regulatory Frameworks: Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial regulatory and oversight entities are responsible for prioritizing and implementing minimum requirements for risk management. These requirements should be risk- and performance-based where feasible and informed by existing standards, guidelines, and sector-specific risks.
- Leveraging Existing Guidance: The requirements should utilize existing guidance and standards where applicable, aiming to reduce duplication and ensure alignment with voluntary public-private collaboration. This approach is intended to be scalable and adaptable to evolving risks.
- Building Resilience Upfront: The Federal Government’s commitment to resilience is demonstrated through its primary responsibility to enforce minimum resilience and security standards. These standards are designed to integrate resilience into critical infrastructure assets and systems from the start by design. This proactive approach aims to embed resilience features early in the lifecycle of infrastructure projects.
- Holistic Risk Management: These minimum requirements are part of a broader risk management strategy that considers all threats and hazards, their likelihood, vulnerabilities, consequences, and the interdependencies within and across critical infrastructure sectors. The approach also accounts for immediate and long-term consequences and the potential for cascading effects.
- Role of Owners and Operators: Critical infrastructure owners and operators are seen as key players who are uniquely positioned to manage risks to their operations and assets. They are expected to collaborate with governmental bodies to align their private security measures with national standards.
- Enforcement and Accountability: Robust accountability and enforcement mechanisms are essential components of effective risk management. These mechanisms should be continuously updated to keep pace with the national risk environment, ensuring that all stakeholders maintain the necessary security and resilience standards.
These planned minimum requirements are part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure that all segments of critical infrastructure are fortified against a variety of risks and threats, thus enhancing the overall resilience of the nation’s essential services and assets.
How Shift5 Can Help
Shift5 specializes in onboard operational technology (OT) data and cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, including national defense and transportation systems. We can significantly help organizations meet the minimum security and resilience requirements outlined in the memorandum.
- Cybersecurity Solutions for Critical Systems: The Shift5 Platform can help secure these systems against cyber threats with comprehensive cybersecurity solutions tailored to the unique needs of the OT platforms used in transportation, defense, and other critical sectors.
- Compliance with Standards and Guidelines: By leveraging Shift5’s expertise, organizations can ensure that their cybersecurity practices align with existing guidance and standards. This alignment is crucial for meeting the minimum requirements set by regulatory frameworks.
- Risk Management and Monitoring: The Shift5 Platform enables continuous monitoring and management of cybersecurity risks to military and transportation assets. It can assess vulnerabilities, detect unauthorized access attempts, and respond to potential threats in real-time, all of which are critical components of a robust risk-based approach to security.
- Data Analytics and Threat Intelligence: The Shift5 Platform’s advanced data analytics and threat intelligence capabilities can provide actionable insights that help infrastructure owners, operators, and maintainers understand their risk landscape better and make faster, more informed decisions about their security strategies.
- Reporting and Compliance Documentation: Organizations must often provide documentation and reports on their security posture as part of regulatory compliance. The Shift5 Platform can help organizations generate the data required for compliance reports that help document adherence to required security standards and regulatory requirements.
- Enhancing Public-Private Collaboration: Shift5 can act as a bridge between the public and private sectors by facilitating the sharing of threat intelligence and best practices. This collaboration is vital for a unified security effort.
By integrating Shift5’s advanced onboard OT cybersecurity technologies and services, critical infrastructure entities can enhance their resilience and security profiles, meeting and exceeding the Federal Government’s minimum security and resilience requirements. Our platform’s observability capabilities not only align with regulatory expectations but can also significantly bolster the cyber-defensive strategy for the nation’s overall critical infrastructure.
Learn more here.