CISA Official Calls for Better Government-Industry Cyber Threat Information Sharing

The federal government needs to break down barriers to sharing cyber threat information with the private sector, according to an official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Matt Hartman, deputy executive director of cybersecurity at CISA, said the private sector has better visibility over the cyber threat environment and is better positioned to detect breaches, GovernmentCIO Media & Research reported.

“We ended 2020 facing one of the most sophisticated supply chain compromises to date,” Hartman said about the SolarWinds Orion hack that reportedly affected the networks of about a hundred American companies.

Hartman added that federal agencies should avoid information silos and better leverage data in making cybersecurity decisions.

While the federal government has made significant progress in bolstering its cyber defenses, both independent cybercriminals and adversarial nation-state actors are also becoming “more sophisticated and brazen,” Hartman said during the Cybersecurity Innovations Summit organized by Advanced Technology Academic Research Center.

Government security officials have already vowed to partner with industry in addressing cyber threats like ransomware, a type of malware attack that involves locking up an organization’s data for ransom.

The Institute for Security and Technology’s Ransomware Task Force, a private-sector think tank consisting of experts from various industries, pegged the average amount of ransomware payment at $233,817 as of the third quarter of 2020.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a 2021 Wash100 winner, said his department will work with the RTF in implementing its 48 recommendations.

The recommendations have four overarching goals: deter ransomware attacks through a coordinated strategy, disrupt the criminal business model and reduce its profitability, help organizations prepare for ransomware attacks and help victims respond more effectively.