April is Emergency Communications Month

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has kicked off activities for its annual Emergency Communications Month. This year, CISA will focus on helping people understand what emergency communications is, the important role that it plays in our everyday lives, and resources available to help entities increase the security and resilience of their emergency communications networks. Emergency communications is a complex field, as multiple types of specialties are necessary to provide the robustness that first responders require during an incident or when communicating critical information to communities.

The consequences of a lack of resilience in emergency communications was demonstrated during Hurricane Maria, which destroyed 95% of cell towers on the island as well as the undersea cables, and its aftermath. While there are government efforts to improve communications infrastructure resilience, such as the Disaster Information Reporting System and local community-led initiatives, there is more work to be done. CISA has provided a list of resources for organizations to utilize during Emergency Communications month, including communications plan templates and assistance with setting up interoperable communications systems. Read more at CISA.