DHS Strategic Guidance to Improve Critical Infrastructure Security, Resiliency

The Department of Homeland Security has released strategic guidance to help federal agencies and operators of critical infrastructure systems improve their cybersecurity and resilience.

An initiative that supports the Biden administration’s National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, the document aims to address several priority areas, including addressing cyber and other threats coming from China, identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities in the supply chain, and addressing the critical infrastructure sector’s dependence on space technologies, DHS .gov reported Thursday.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker, said the guidance will help in carrying out a collective response against a wide range of cyberthreats.

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and a 2024 Wash100 winner, said that ensuring the resiliency and security of the nation’s critical infrastructure allows for uninterrupted government operations, the provision of essential services and the protection of national security.

The guidance comes amid a growing threat coming out of Beijing. In March, Andrew Scott, associate director for China operations at the CISA, disclosed that Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors are already on U.S. critical infrastructure networks and could disrupt the country at any time.