The continued flurry of high-profile ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure targets in the United States is climbing the ladder of presidential priorities – with President Biden saying it’s on the agenda for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, and White House officials confirming that cryptocurrency will be part of a new examination of global corruption. […]

President Trump’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) released recommendations and an implementation plan in a Dec. 10 report to the President for the creation of a Critical Infrastructure Command Center (CICC) that would be pair government and private sector experts to improve cybersecurity for critical infrastructure sectors. […]

The answer to that question, according to the latest memo on essential critical infrastructure form the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), turns out to be a lot.   […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on March 19 issued a list of 16 sectors – including information technology – that it considers essential during Federal, state, and local government responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking comments through May 4 on a draft revision of NISTIR 8183, the Cybersecurity Framework Manufacturing Profile, that includes subcategory enhancements established in the agency’s Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, Version 1.1.  […]

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the kick-off of its annual Infrastructure and Security and Resilience Month running through the end of November. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in a new report several cybersecurity risks to the U.S. electric grid and called upon the Department of Energy (DoE) to develop an improved Federal strategy to protect against cyber threats to the grid. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revise its pipeline security, cybersecurity guidelines, and risk assessment methodology, and build a more robust cybersecurity workforce to enhance its pipeline security program. […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a list of 55 “national critical functions” today, signaling a shift from protecting specific critical infrastructure sectors to protecting specific activities that are crucial to the country. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) labeled health information technology (IT) as one of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) priority recommendation areas for this year. […]

President Trump on Tuesday issued an Executive Order that puts into place a range of policy actions to increase awareness of the danger that electromagnetic pulse (EMP) episodes pose to electric grids and  technology networks, and the critical infrastructure assets that depend on them – and to at least soften the potentially disastrous impact of naturally occurring or man-made EMPs.  […]

Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) has pioneered a graduate school program that emphasizes data science, cyber-physical, and cybersecurity research – particularly on the front of cloud computing – to a degree that has earned it Federal recognition. […]

A paper released by think tank New America on Thursday recommends that local governments build partnerships with Federal, state, and other local partners to prepare for major cyberattacks. At the Federal level, strategies for doing helping cities include providing grants targeted specifically to cybersecurity help, the report suggests. […]

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen emphasized the need for industry and government to consistently work together to thwart threats and defend critical infrastructure within an agenda of “relentless resilience,” during a speech on Nov. 16 at an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. […]

With critical infrastructure emerging as a major concern for the U.S. government, cybersecurity efforts must account for critical infrastructure’s interdependent and connected nature, and make sure to address the linkages between industries, said experts from the private and public sector at a Wednesday event hosted by the Atlantic Council. […]

A Defense Department spokesperson responded late Tuesday to a report from the Government Accountability Office that DoD faces challenges in protecting weapons systems from cyber attacks by saying the agency is “continuously strengthening” its defense cybersecurity posture. […]

A multi-agency appropriations bill signed into law by President Trump on Friday provides funding for a new office at the Department of Energy focused on protecting critical infrastructure, along with a range of smaller IT-related projects. […]

The Department of Defense released the latest chapter of its cyber strategy on Tuesday, which takes a more offensive stance than its 2015 predecessor and directs DoD to “defend forward, shape the day-to-day competition, and prepare for war” in cyberspace. […]

A cybersecurity exercise hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) revealed complications that can arise in the response to an attack on critical infrastructure including challenges in establishing authority among multiple agencies and levels of government. […]

Christopher Krebs, Under Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), described how DHS’ National Risk Management Center (NRMC) is pinpointing the critical functions in American infrastructure and setting actionable tasks during an interview with Government Matters. […]

Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an interim report today detailing four major challenges and 10 critical actions that it says must be taken in order to stem the growing tide of cybersecurity threats facing the nation and Federal agencies. […]

Critical infrastructure protection is so vital to the United States’ national and economic security, as well as public health and safety, that disruption or destruction of any of the 16 critical sectors would have a debilitating effect on the nation. […]

A draft of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) Cyber Working Group report on securing the nation’s critical infrastructure has found that while the U.S. has the capabilities to defend against cyber attacks, it lacks the coordination to do so effectively. […]

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the nation’s election infrastructure will be designated as a subsector of the existing critical infrastructure sector. […]