The WSJ in their Opinion section reported about a NY citywide initiative that aims to coordinate all digital law-enforcement efforts. The op ed was written by Cy Vance, Manhattan district attorney and James O’Neill, NY City police commissioner.They stated their clear opinion that cybercrimes against hospitals, governments, banks and utilities can cause loss of life and significant financial loss: "It is clear to us in law enforcement that these threats are an issue of public safety. If a hospital, water system or energy grid goes down, people could die. When critical services like transportation and government offices can’t function, it affects the economy in a real way. When emergency systems, in particular, are attacked—as in Baltimore—the risk to people in crisis is immediate and severe."
I strongly commend initiatives like this, and it should be repeated in major cities across the globe. Here is more detail about this new cooperation: "The two of us, along with Geoff Brown of New York City Cyber Command and Phil Reitinger of Global Cyber Alliance, an international nonprofit combatting cyberthreats, convened members of New York City’s cyber community in November 2017. The group agreed that while private companies and public agencies work to defend against attacks, there is little dialogue across sectors about cybersecurity.
"Some national initiatives exist, such as the CyberSecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, but there is little formal coordination at the local level. Energy firms often don’t talk to transportation companies and health-care professionals are frequently unaware of specific cyberthreats to the financial sector. This leaves cities like ours vulnerable.
"That is why we’re announcing the launch of the New York City Cyber Critical Services and Infrastructure, or CCSI—a formal partnership between our agencies, the New York City Cyber Command and the Global Cyber Alliance—that will allow us to build a ring of steel around the city’s critical services and infrastructure. This is comprised of 17 sectors, including emergency services, water systems and nuclear reactors."
The full article is here.
