DHS Orders Pipeline Operators to Report Cyberattacks, Review Security Posture
On the heels of the Colonial Pipeline attack, the US Department of Homeland Security aims to force a reticent industry to improve its ability to detect and respond to cybersecurity attacks.
The US government has issued a security directive that requires critical pipeline owners and operators to take significant steps to improve cybersecurity following the ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline earlier in the month.
Today s security directive, issued by the US Department of Homeland Security s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA), requires critical pipeline operators, such as Colonial Pipeline, to report all confirmed and potential cyberattacks, improve their incident response by assigning a cybersecurity coordinator, and create a cybersecurity plan based on the results of a comprehensive threat assessment conducted within the next 30 days. The US pipeline infrastructure consists of more th
PIPELINE SECURITY PROGRAM: House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko
In a letter provided to The Hill and sent to acting Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Brandon Wales, Katko raised questions around the agency’s Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative and assessments conducted on pipeline assets as part of the program.
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“In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, ensuring the success, growth, and effectiveness of the Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative is more important than ever before,” Katko wrote.
The Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative was founded in 2018 and involves CISA working with the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Energy and critical infrastructure stakeholders to assess and secure U.S. pipeline systems.
“My administration is committed to safeguarding our critical infrastructure, much of which is privately owned and managed like Colonial,” Biden said at the White House. “Private entities are making their own determinations on cybersecurity.”
The Colonial Pipeline hack has shined a light on long standing concerns around private industry owning and operating the vast majority of the nation’s critical infrastructure, often leading to less transparency for the federal government into security operations.
It has also raised concerns that the oil and gas sector has less oversight than other utilities.
In the wake of the ransomware attack on the pipeline carried out by a criminal organization known as DarkSide, according to the FBI officials are taking a closer look at the sector.