Critical Infrastructure Security, Government Regulations

Experts: Cyber, physical security of US critical infrastructure jeopardized by federal government revamp

The White House in Washington DC

Expansive federal government changes under the Trump administration were regarded by industry experts and former government cybersecurity officials as having debilitated public-private partnerships ensuring U.S. critical infrastructure organizations' cybersecurity and physical security defenses, Cybersecurity Dive reports.

Operators of critical infrastructure entities were reported to have significantly fewer cyber conversations with the federal government following the Department of Homeland Security's removal of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, which was noted by a telecommunications sector representative to have led to project suspensions in the sector. Threat information sharing has also been jeopardized by Trump's efforts, with Health-ISAC Chief Security Officer Errol Weiss disclosing a slower pace of alerts from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moreover, massive cuts at CISA were noted by Claroty's Jen Sovada to have hindered meaningful engagement with stakeholders. "We are seeing something unprecedented in cybersecurity — a government deliberately deciding to disinvest in its capabilities. I don't see how this retrenchment can do anything other than make us worse off," said Cyber Threat Alliance President Michael Daniel, who was the cybersecurity advisor of the Obama administration.

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