Building a Culture of Cyber Preparedness

Daniel Kaniewski, the deputy administrator for resilience at FEMA, has written an article on the importance of incorporating cybersecurity into overall preparedness efforts. He discusses FEMA’s coordination with the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other efforts undertaken by his organization in this area, which include investments of over $165 million in grant funding to state and local jurisdictions. He also notes that next year’s national level exercise (NLE) – NLE 2020 – will feature a major cyber attack scenario. As with previous NLEs, the coming exercise will include participants from all levels of government and the private sector (WaterISAC has participated with water and wastewater utilities in past NLEs and encourages members of the sector to get involved in NLE 2020, as opportunities present themselves). Kaniewski concludes by noting the important role everyone has to play when it comes to cybersecurity, a nod to the theme for this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM). As discussed in previous WaterISAC postings, including this one regarding an article by WaterISAC Lead Analyst Chuck Egli for the California Water Environment Association (CWEA), this year’s theme of “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT” encourages personal accountability. Read the article at FEMA.