The recent
retirement of Equifax CEO Richard Smith – after a data breach at the credit
reporting bureau put the personal information of as many as 143 million
Americans at
risk – is just the latest development in an ongoing story that
represents an urgent call for cybersecurity action.
Trending
Articles
How to stop
your devices from listening to (and saving)…
Yes, voice
technology is amazing. You can ask your phone a question. You…
Powered By
Our critical
infrastructure centers are at grave risk for technological or digital
disruption, more commonly known as hacks. A single hack on any one of these
targets could severely imperil the health, financial well-being and security of
the American people.
Members of
Congress, state attorneys general, security experts and citizens need to strive
to understand and mitigate the terrible impacts of the hack, because these
impacts could last for years.
The privacy
of Social Security, driver’s license and credit card numbers were all
endangered by the Equifax hack. So were home addresses and dates of birth of
roughly half the U.S. population.
Experts have
been quick to identify what has been labeled the “Equi-hack” as a Level 10 (the
highest number on a scale of 1 to 10) threat to identity and information
security.
The depth
and breadth of the Equi-hack underscores the urgent need for private sector
leaders – including those at my company, Parsons – to confront and prevent
cyberattacks across a wide spectrum of vulnerabilities.
While credit
cards numbers, dates of birth and addresses were the target of the Equi-hack,
imagine a devastating cyberattack on America’s critical infrastructure.
Electric grids, dams, mass transit systems and air traffic control centers are
all vulnerable.
While credit
cards numbers, dates of birth and addresses were the target of the Equi-hack,
imagine a devastating cyberattack on America’s critical infrastructure.
Electric grids, dams, mass transit systems and air traffic control centers are
all vulnerable.
And these
are just some infrastructure centers where the Internet of Things, blockchain,
artificial intelligence and machine learning now play a major role in the
management and delivery of critical services. These new innovations create new
digital weak points to be exploited by bad actors.
A simple
network connection and a single swipe on a touchpad can be entry points to an
infrastructure attack. For example, a 2016 U.S. Justice Department indictment
revealed that a hacker loyal to the Iranian government allegedly gained access
to the control system of Bowman Avenue Dam in upstate New York through an
inexpensive cellular modem.
At the
federal level, the U.S. Senate recently took a step in the right direction when
it passed the $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act with several amendments
that address cybersecurity issues – including critical infrastructure.
But the
stakes here are enormous and it’s up to the private and public sectors to work
together to maintain the momentum.
The vast
control systems of infrastructure throughout America are often outdated, having
been installed long before cybersecurity was an urgent threat to our small
towns and big cities alike.
Updating
these systems is a proverbial race against the clock and there must be greater
collaboration between the private and public sectors to get the job done. The
pace with which the infrastructure industry and government agencies embrace
security innovation must rapidly increase.
State and
municipal agency partnerships with private companies can offer government entities
vastly expanded access to the new technologies and cutting edge know-how
required to ensure that America’s critical infrastructure is ready and
resilient should cyberattacks take place.
For
instance, new technologies and algorithms allow engineers and cybersecurity
professionals to address vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure
facilities and systems. Cybersecurity solutions such as vulnerability and
penetration testing can identify digital weak points in a facility or system.
By
identifying, then assessing and ultimately exploiting critical infrastructure
vulnerabilities, cybersecurity experts can design, test and implement security
for critical networks and infrastructure – not just in response to immediate
dangers but to future threats as well. That
means access will be denied to hackers.
A
little-known bit of World War II history tells us that Nazi spies plotted to
blow up the Hoover Dam. Today, it is not alarmist to say that a lack of
partnership between the private sector and state and municipal agencies,
leading to a lack of investment in infrastructure cybersecurity, could result
in a catastrophic hack of a pipeline, dam or nuclear power plant. The time is
now to join forces and work together to ensure America’s security.
Virginia Grebbien
is corporate executive vice president and chief of staff at Parsons, a
technology-driven engineering services firm with more than 70 years of
experience in the engineering, construction, technical, and professional
services industries.
Fox News
0 Comments