Preventing Cyber 9/11 — Are We Doing Enough?

OVERLAND PARK, KS–(Marketwired – June 12, 2015) – It’s been almost 14 years since 9/11. In that time, security measures have been implemented and laws have been passed to prevent it from happening again. But were another terrorist attack to strike our nation, it may not bring down buildings; it may cripple our critical infrastructure.

Cyber attackers are becoming more sophisticated in their methods. Recently a foreign hacker group was able to gain access to the White House and State Department’s computer systems. And in late 2014, malware dubbed BlackEnergy was discovered to have successfully infiltrated our nation’s critical infrastructure. Although it lays dormant, activation of this malicious program could override systems controlling physical assets in the nation’s power grid. The success of these attacks should put less-secure crucial networks on high alert.

For several years, Congress had been involved in a stop-and-go process to introduce legislation that would standardize cybersecurity practices and critical infrastructure protection. Although some bills have been passed, recommended actions do little in the way of actually increasing critical infrastructure security. These bills remain a work in progress and revisions will be necessary to ensure better cyber-protection.

Commitment to improving early threat detection and identification of warning signals is imperative. And since little ground was gained in the way of applicable security measures, utilities must be proactive and persistent in their risk mitigation efforts. They need to continuously increase situational cyber-awareness, preparedness and resilience. There is a plethora of security solutions available to accommodate these types of initiatives, but aggregating and correlating data from scanners and system logs can be an impossible task.

Solutions to help manage governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) can remove the burden of such interpretation.

With a GRC system, like LockPath’s Keylight, organizations can gain context from incoming security scanner and log data. This allows for effective risk detection/identification, increased security awareness, and a clearer vision for strategizing and mitigation efforts. By documenting and cataloguing these findings, industry-wide collaboration and communication of new and existing threats is made more effective, and best practices firmly established.

The critical infrastructure will remain a target for malicious attacks. Until more comprehensive legislature is developed, it is the responsibility of utility organizations to remain steadfast in proactive security measures. The intention is not solely in protecting our nation’s integral systems, but also protecting the welfare of those who rely on them by preventing a cyber 9/11.

About LockPath
LockPath is a market leader in corporate governance, risk management, regulatory compliance (GRC) and information security (InfoSec) software. The company’s flexible, scalable and fully integrated suite of applications is used by organizations to automate business processes, reduce enterprise risk and demonstrate regulatory compliance to achieve audit-ready status. LockPath serves a client base of global organizations ranging from small and midsize companies to Fortune 10 enterprises in more than 15 industries. The company is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

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LockPath Media Contact
Danielle Valliere
danielle.valliere@lockpath.com
913-601-3544