Minimizing the Critical Infrastructure Target
Rather than espionage or intellectual property theft, the true adversarial threat is on U.S. infrastructure. Disruption to everyday life would mean a win for malicious actors.
Speakers at the TechNet Cyber 2024 conference spoke on the matter on Wednesday, June 26, in Baltimore.
“The fact that we’re seeing Volt Typhoon move into areas of infrastructure, I think that’s really concerning,” said Rear Adm. Stephen Donald, deputy commander of the U.S. Tenth Fleet for the U.S. Navy.
Volt Typhoon, a Chinese government-led hacking campaign, was identified and reported to the United States and its allies in May 2023.
“That’s where we have to leverage our partners that have all the extra authorities to work with industry and bring about the ability to detect and mitigate risks,” Adm. Donald added.
From a maritime standpoint, pre-positioning to meet attacks headfirst and ensure the security of critical infrastructure is key, explained Rear Adm. Jason Tama, U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command commander. “Private industry is on the front lines of this. We can’t do it all,” he said.
Knowledge gained from trusted relationships and information sharing is crucial for national security.
The defense industrial base (DIB), along with the Department of Defense (DoD) Information Networks, are also at an increased risk. "The majority of DIB partners are small businesses,” shared Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general for the U.S. Army Cyber Command. “How can you affordably give a small business partner a virtual environment?”
Cybersecurity levels are too complex for small businesses to meet alone, she explained, and put Army capabilities at risk.
The partnership with industry, learning from each other in terms of what we are seeing in the broader environment has been fabulous and very insightful.
This is why it is vital to know of cybersecurity programs aimed at helping private sector DIB partners remain foundationally secure for military collaboration, Gen. Barrett said.
“We’re seeing some programs coming out of the DoD CIO [chief information officer] with respect to opening some of their cybersecurity program,” she shared. Additionally, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency have programs Gen. Barrett strongly encouraged industry partners to take advantage of.
“Ever since the first joint cybersecurity advisory on Volt Typhoon was published, the partnership across the service components and agencies has been phenomenal,” she said. “The partnership with industry, learning from each other in terms of what we are seeing in the broader environment has been fabulous and very insightful. And that speed at which we can share information is hugely important.”
TechNet Cyber is an annual event held in Baltimore, Maryland, organized by AFCEA International. SIGNAL Media is the official media of AFCEA.
