Securing Critical Infrastructure: The Essential Role of Public-Private Partnerships

Government collaboration with industry can help drive strategic planning and tactical operations to address cyberthreats.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) states, “Public-private partnerships are the foundation for effective critical infrastructure security and resilience strategies, and timely, trusted information sharing among stakeholders is essential to the security of the nation’s critical infrastructure.” We couldn’t agree more.

Critical infrastructure is highly susceptible to cyberattacks, as seen with the SolarWinds attack in late 2020, which impacted global governments and critical infrastructure providers, and in the ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS Meat last year. However, with the proper IT infrastructure security in place, organizations can mitigate the risk of cyberattacks and protect their vulnerable data.

We believe it’s imperative for global governments to leverage the combined resources and expertise of government, industry and other stakeholders to enhance cybersecurity. Public-private partnerships play a critical role in establishing the strategic frameworks and tactical operational mechanisms necessary to secure data and IT infrastructure.

The President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) are critical public-private partnerships that should be further advanced over the next year. The NSTAC and JDCD allow for agencies to join efforts on combating cyberthreats through strategic planning and proactive defense measures.

How NSTAC supports public-private cybersecurity initiatives

NSTAC aims to assist agencies dealing with telecommunications that affect national security and emergency preparedness. The NSTAC brings together IT and communications sector industry leaders and executives from many of our country’s largest and most influential companies, as well as cybersecurity experts from the White House, CISA and other government agencies to provide advice on securing telecommunications and digital technologies to protect the nation. I have the privilege of supporting Tenable co-founder Jack Huffard, who serves as a member of the NSTAC.

The NSTAC is currently working on a multi-phase project for improving internet resilience. Under the initial phase of this project, the NSTAC released a report to the President on Software Assurance in the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain. For the second phase, the NSTAC is currently developing a report on recommendations for adopting zero trust architectures. In the next couple of months, NSTAC will launch the third phase of this project, focused on addressing cybersecurity challenges associated with the convergence of Information Technology and Operational Technology, which is vital to further protect industrial control systems and other critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.

How the JCDC supports public-private cybersecurity initiatives

The JCDC was established by CISA to create a collaborative environment for federal agencies and the companies involved to prevent cyber intrusions and implement national cyber defense plans. The JCDC joins forces with federal agencies, state and local governments, and private-sector companies to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure. CISA Director Jen Easterly noted that the JCDC allows for “a shared situational awareness of the threat environment, so that we understand it better to develop whole-of-nation comprehensive cyber defense plans to deal with the most significant threats to the nation to include significant threats to our critical infrastructure.”

Tenable was recently named as an Alliance Partner for the JCDC, meaning we will be collaborating with CISA across a range of cybersecurity issues and challenges, to provide strategic insights and operational response acumen. Managing vulnerabilities is essential to secure critical IT infrastructure and the work done by JCDC and CISA promotes the prioritization of network security. Federal agencies across the nation need to adopt initiatives put forth by the JCDC to ensure their networks are protected from vulnerabilities, like the recent Apache Log4J flaw, which has impacted billions of devices worldwide. The JCDC and CISA have been quick to respond and help protect the nation’s infrastructure from this vulnerability, a vital effort, especially given that recent research from Tenable shows that nearly 30% of organizations hadn’t begun scanning for Log4J as of late December.

Conclusion

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, building collaborative communities between the public and private sectors is crucial to synchronize operations and take preventative measures as a unified front to critical infrastructure threats.

In order to complete many large-scale projects, the expertise and technology from private-sector entities, as well as the resource support and convening power of global governments, are what permit public-sector proposals to come to fruition.

Learn More

• Log4Shell: 5 Steps The OT Community Should Take Right Now
• CISA’s Binding Operational Directive on Managing Unacceptable Risk Vulnerabilities in Federal Enterprises Is Key to Stopping Federal Cyberattacks
• Unpacking the U.S. National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure