Establishing public-private partnerships to support information sharing in defense of critical infrastructure and homeland security has been a challenge for over 20 years. We have enacted policy, created incentives, attempted to build bridges, and more to bring government and industry together to close the gaps in our national defense strategy. However, as recent attacks against our critical infrastructure have shown, we have not been successful.

Attempts to overcome public-private information silos have been reinvigorated by CISA’s establishment of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC). The newly formed collaborative represents an unprecedented — and, as yet, untested — partnership between a variety of government agencies (including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, U.S. Cyber Command, and others) and private-sector partners (including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon). The JCDC has been tasked with “coordinating cyber defense capabilities to ensure a whole-of-nation approach to securing critical infrastructure and defending national interests,”^[1] aligning both commercial and government interests and marshaling the respective resources of both to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks against critical infrastructure.

The JCDC is a promising step toward building an effective coalition, but it is a futile exercise if it builds partnerships according to the same information sharing model that previously failed to deliver the kind of public-private collaboration needed to effectively anticipate and respond to attacks against critical infrastructure.

Consider the current hub-and-spoke model of information sharing. In this model, information is passed from discrete organizations (spokes) to a central hub, which analyzes, enriches, and anonymizes data as needed before sharing that data with other spokes. There are benefits to this model, but it also has significant limitations. First, it imposes a one-size-fits-all information sharing protocol on sharing communities with unique needs, resulting in uneven participation. It also slows down incident response time, as information must first pass through the hub before being shared outward with other spokes.

Most importantly, private sector entities have been hesitant of the federal government asking for — or in some instances, demanding — their data. Private sector entities are often unwilling to share information about vulnerabilities or cyber incidents because they don’t have confidence that their information will be properly protected. Should such data be breached, companies run the risk of negative publicity, compromised reputation, regulatory penalties, the loss of trade secrets, and — consequently — falling stock prices and lost revenue.^[2] In short, the private sector has many reasons to see information sharing with the federal government as counter to its best interests.

Historically, the government has resisted mandating threat-information sharing between public and private sectors, attempting instead to alleviate the private sector’s concerns and incentivize the voluntary sharing of information.^[3] However, legislation currently being advanced on Capitol Hill requires the private sector to swiftly report hacks to CISA, with noncompliant companies facing subpoena or even potential penalties if they fail to do so within the mandatory reporting timeframe. In forcing companies to “report hacks or else,” CISA would compromise the public-private information-sharing partnerships currently being cultivated through the JCDC, leaving us right back where we started.

Director Jen Easterly has been clear that CISA is not and should not become a regulatory or enforcement agency and that its goal is to act as a trusted partner.^[4] However, even if it does not compel information sharing, in establishing itself as a central hub and prioritizing receiving threat information from the public sector, CISA runs the risk of developing asymmetrical partnerships plagued with all the old challenges.

Instead, CISA should work to establish partnerships according to a point-to-point distributed model in which information is shared freely among both private and public stakeholders in the national cyber defense mission. In the point-to-point distributed model, no single organization controls the inflow and outflow of threat information, and vertical partnerships between public sector entities and CISA are deprioritized in favor of horizontal partnerships among critical infrastructure owners and operators, government agencies (including CISA), and other cybersecurity partners. As a result, information can be shared at an operational tempo and according to an individual community’s specific needs rather than the needs of the hub.

The point-to-point distributed model more closely reflects how communities already work together — independently of the federal government — to protect their own infrastructure and resources. As such, supporting a point-to-point model is a more efficient use of both regional and federal resources than compelling communities to adopt new sharing practices and standards. In fact, many of CISA’s current resource investments already support a point-to-point distributed model.

Specifically, in recent months the agency has focused on recruiting industry leaders into cybersecurity advisor positions tasked with bringing together regional critical infrastructure owner/operators with federal, state, local, and other stakeholders. CISA has wisely focused on recruiting advisors who are already embedded within their assigned region and who, as a result, already have longstanding community ties. Unsurprisingly, many of these advisors are former National Guardsmen, who have been engaging and defending their communities from cyber attack while simultaneously working within the private sector. As such, the National Guard serves as an excellent example of the kind of community collaboration that already exists and that can be resourced by CISA via a point-to-point distributed model.

That said, the most immediate and useful resource CISA has to offer is the wealth of unclassified information that it currently owns. Offering this information to its private-sector partners without compelling information sharing in return would better enable CISA’s regional cybersecurity advisors to build stakeholder relationships on a foundation of trust rather than policy. It would also position CISA as a participant within a broader community of sharing communities rather than as a regulator of a governmental information sharing process. In short, the hub-and-spoke model may empower CISA, but a new distributed model can better empower the national defense effort as a whole.

As a country, we have an incredible number of resources and partnerships at our disposal, and this puts us at a significant advantage in the cyber fight. However, if we want to outpace increasingly sophisticated cyber warfare, we are going to need to observe globally, protect nationally, and defend locally.

Soruce:hstoday

As much of our lives go online, experts warn people and businesses to pay particular attention to data breaches. In particular, the number of cyber attacks that increase the number of people working at home is increasing.

October is Cyber ​​Security Awareness Month.

Tillman Hodgson, president of Kelowna-based data security company Seeking Fire Consulting, said:

“Even companies that have implemented robust security frameworks may not have taken into account most of their home-based employees,” he said.

Hodgson recommends keeping your device up-to-date with the latest security patches and using unique accounts and passwords.

According to a recent BC Chamber of Commerce survey, more than 60% of companies have experienced cyber breaches, but only three-quarters have reported them.

“When we think of cyber breaches, the typical impact we see is the impact on business productions that have been knocked out for some time,” he said.

“But there is also an impact on reputation, so there is an incentive to do things internally,” Hodgson said. “But in the long run, it really affects everyone.”

Hodgson suggested that businesses should spend about 4% of their revenue on security and privacy initiatives.

He said companies need to scrutinize how employees share data and make sure the data is safe.

Soruce:eminetracanada

As more of our lives move online, experts are warning people and businesses to be extra careful about data breaches, particularly as there is an uptick in cyber attacks with more people working from home.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month.

“We’re seeing different types of cyber attacks, especially with work from home initiatives,” said Tillman Hodgson, president of the Kelowna-based data security firm SeekingFire Consulting.

“Even businesses that had robust security frameworks in place maybe didn’t take into account most of the workforce being at home,” he said.

Hodgson recommends keeping devices updated with the latest security patches and using unique accounts and passwords.

soruce:globalnews

This article is the third in a series that the Coast Guard will be publishing in recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Now in its 18th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity and cyber risk management across all critical infrastructure, especially the Marine Transportation System (MTS).

Cybersecurity incidents are becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence and can have significant impacts, as evidenced by the recent Solar Winds incident and the attack on Colonial Pipeline.

The maritime community is not immune from cybersecurity incidents with several events resulting in reduced operations and financial losses for maritime businesses. Cyber hygiene is the first line of defense in a cyber risk management plan and involves the processes one uses to protect access to an information network.

The first step for good cyber hygiene is password management. This includes:

• changing a password frequently
• ensuring that the password is complex
• and limiting users who have administrative level access

Recent Coast Guard inspections revealed cybersecurity risks from poor cyber hygiene. Examples include:

• passwords semi-permanently attached to the equipment they are used on
• printed emails noting that a password has changed lying in plain view
• and sharing user accounts to display electronic vessel certificates or reference Safety Management System documents

soruce:workboat

With an established presence throughout China’s “near seas” in East Asia and further abroad in the North Pacific on fishery patrols, the possibility of additional long-distance deployments by the CCG should be seen as a matter of when and not if. This is especially true in waters where Chinese interests and citizens are threatened but the cooperative look of the CCG’s white hulls presents a more appealing optic than the more confrontational appearance of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) gray hulls. One such location is off the west coast of Latin America in the Eastern Pacific on counter-narcotic patrols due the increasing problem of illegal drugs from Latin America making their way across the Pacific to Chinese consumers.

The expansion and modernization of China’s maritime forces, in particular the PLAN, has received a great deal of attention. The PLAN is also the largest navy in the world with an overall battle force of over 360 ships, including more than 130 major surface combatants and more than 60 submarines along with its own aviation arm of more than 300 land-and sea-based fixed and rotary wing aircraft of all types. The PLAN is an increasingly modern and flexible force capable of conducting a wide range of peacetime and wartime missions at expanding distances from the Chinese mainland. From counter-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, to hospital ship deployments to Latin America, to submarine patrols in the Indian Ocean, and long-range operations in the Central Pacific, the PLAN is an increasingly global force. It now operates in all of the U.S. Navy’s numbered fleet areas of responsibility in support of China’s expanding interests.

Matching the PLAN’s impressive modernization is the growth of the CCG. The modern CCG is the result of the 2013 consolidation of four legacy maritime law enforcement agencies. With a combination of the agencies’ older ships, repurposed PLAN ships, and increasingly new construction, the CCG has rapidly grown into the largest maritime law enforcement agency in the world. The white-hulled ships of the CCG are now a common sight throughout China’s “near seas” within the first island chain, particularly in contested waters near features such as Scarborough Reef, the Senkaku Islands, and Second Thomas Shoal as well as near foreign drilling rigs and survey operations. Backed up by the PLAN and the ships of China’s Maritime Militia, the CCG is Beijing’s tool of choice for intimidating rival maritime claimants throughout the region. However, with 140 ocean-going ships of 1000 tons or greater—including 60 ships of 2500 tons or greater—the CCG has more than enough capacity to expand its operations beyond regional waters.

Source: maritimecyprus

Intelligence company applying AI to transform global maritime trade, is proud to announce that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. patent No 10,922,981 for its Risk Event Identification in Maritime Data and Usage Thereof. 

The patent relates to technology for identifying risk events for vessels by analyzing raw maritime data and constructing a vessel activity overview for each vessel. Patterns in vessel behavior are identified to indicate the occurrence of risk events, which can be validated by comparing them to other vessel’s behavior or using raw maritime data. This technique can identify risk events, including compliance risk, security risk, safety risk, and others, using reduced resources without increasing false positive metrics.

“We are pleased to have reached the remarkable milestone of having been granted this patent by the USPTO,” said Ami Daniel, CEO and Co-Founder of Windward. “Across the maritime trade industry insurers, banks, shipowners, and energy companies alike have been using manual methods to assess risk. At Windward we are revolutionizing maritime risk identification by developing proven, and now patented, methods of analysis to provide accurate and timely risk assessments which are then used by maritime professionals for decision support.”

Windward’s Maritime AI is powered by hundreds of behavioral analytics models and over 10 billion data points, giving its customers the power to make smarter decisions, faster. Windward’s AI analyzes existing behaviors to predict in real-time which companies and vessels are likely to be high risk, and which are safe to conduct business with. Windward’s solution is easily integrated into existing workflows, enabling businesses to look to the future and optimize business practices.

Source: prnewswire

The Belgian Shipping Code, applicable since September 2020, regulates under its chapter 2.5.2 which requirements ports and port facilities (such as commercially operated port terminals) must comply with in terms of maritime security.

Each port facility must, among other things, appoint a security officer and draw up a security plan, which must be submitted for approval to the competent minister charged with the North Sea.

Since the Port of Antwerp is considered an international hub for illegal traffic in drugs e.g. cocaine, the fighting of which is understandably a top priority for both the local and national authorities, the importance of maritime security has only increased in recent years. The Belgian seaports are also a point of attention in the context of the increased pressure from illicit migration.

In this context, the Minister responsible for the North Sea announced at the end of September 2021 stricter rules in the field of port security, which are expected to include increased attention to camera surveillance, increased restrictions on terminal access, and stricter penalties for intruders (who may face up to fifteen years in prison).

Undoubtedly, all stakeholders in carriage of goods from, to or via the Belgian ports will sooner or later be confronted with the above and will have to strike the right balance between the smooth continuing of their trade operations on the one hand, and compliance with the new security measures on the other hand.

Ciska Servais (administrative law department) and Ruud De Houwer (maritime and transport law department) combined the expertise of their teams and assisted the FPS Mobility and Transport in 2020 and 2021 in administrative summary proceedings concerning port security and port security plans. They will continue to closely monitor all new developments in this respect.

Source: astrealaw