In Alaska, top cybersecurity official says state’s remoteness makes it vulnerable but touts resiliency

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Deputy Director Nitin Natarajan speaks astatine nan Alaska CyberSecurity Summit successful Anchorage connected Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Chad Hutson/CISA)

Alaska’s remoteness from nan remainder of nan state intends a cyberattack connected its infrastructure — including ports, electrical stations aliases h2o plants — could origin large problems.

Among nan various agencies moving to forestall specified attacks is nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, aliases CISA, whose lawman director, Nitin Natarajan, visited Alaska precocious for nan Alaska Cybersecurity Summit successful Anchorage.

Natarajan says arsenic nan threat of cyberattacks has shifted, they’re affecting mundane group much and more.

Listen:

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This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Nitin Natarajan: You know, we’re seeing an absorbing move arsenic we look astatine nan unfortunate scenery present crossed nan United States. And traditionally, you know, a batch of group thought cyber victims were ample Fortune 100 companies, they were national authorities agencies, nan military, benignant of these types of large targets that folks were focused on. And what we’re really seeing now is, targets aren’t conscionable those ample companies.

We’re seeing attacks against small- and medium-sized businesses. We’re seeing attacks successful municipality and agrarian America. And we’re seeing attacks against healthcare facilities, h2o utilities, things that disrupt and effect nan measurement of life of day-to-day Americans. And truthful we want to make judge that crossed Alaska, some for captious infrastructure and, frankly, for nan nationalist astatine large, are knowing nan imaginable threats that we’re seeing crossed nan world and really they use to them locally, and nan activity that we tin do together to thief build much resilience.

Casey Grove: Are location imaginable victims successful Alaska that are, benignant of, Alaska-specific that you person seen?

NN: So I think, not needfully abstracted from a type of aliases class of infrastructure, but what I would connection is decidedly nan criticality of nan infrastructure is very different here, right? So I mean, I had a awesome clip yesterday to talk pinch nan folks astatine Port of Alaska and really understand nan criticality of nan Port of Alaska, versus a a larboard successful nan Lower 48, right, wherever you person options.

So if we look at, astir recently, nan calamity of nan span illness successful Baltimore, alright, I mean, that required america to pivot a batch of our options and to move merchandise to Philadelphia aliases to Newark and to different areas. So location was an impact. But location were options. If Port of Alaska went down, where’s nan option? And really do we woody pinch that? And what does that impact, again, nan time to time lives of Alaska? And truthful I deliberation that there’s, while nan class of infrastructure whitethorn not beryllium immoderate different, nan criticality of that infrastructure really is there.

CG: Yeah. Just, I guess, utilizing nan larboard arsenic an example, really mightiness a cyber onslaught impact nan Port of Alaska?

NN: So I deliberation there’s a batch of different imaginable factors arsenic we look astatine introducing caller technology, caller capacity into what we do. All that exertion is, you know, what we say, “expands our onslaught surface,” right? It introduces imaginable vulnerabilities and imaginable risks to nan organization. I mean, Port of Alaska shared, you know, there, a batch of nan infrastructure we spot successful different parts of nan state that are concerning astir cranes. And those types of things are not an rumor here. Actually, nan cranes present are U.S. made but are successful nan process of being replaced, right? So location is nary net connectivity there.

But arsenic we look astatine caller technology, what does that look like? And really do we make judge that we are looking astatine information and taking that into effect arsenic we look astatine each nan modernization efforts? So erstwhile you deliberation astir nan larboard itself, right, nan imaginable vectors for onslaught are great. You person a batch of different companies … you person IT systems moving everything from trucks to quality capital, and billing and paperwork and financing. You know, there’s a batch of imaginable avenues to disrupt, kind, of that day-to-day activity. And that could, not to beryllium that there’s not workarounds, a batch of people, you know, they talk astir going backmost to paper, and you ever person those capabilities to do that. But that often will person an impact.

CG: Yeah. So I conjecture it’s not truthful overmuch astir our proximity to possibly Russia aliases China arsenic overmuch arsenic nan consequences of an onslaught here, possibly being a bigger deal?

NN: Yeah, I think, you know, geographic distance, obviously, successful cyber, arsenic cyber is simply a world issue, nan separator don’t really matter, region really doesn’t matter. The attacks are coming from each complete nan globe. So I deliberation from that perspective, nan location, it is much that consequence than location. But I do think, you know, nan building I’ve heard many times complete nan past 48 hours, it’s resonated, is, you know, “Alaska is an island.” And truthful I deliberation there’s besides that facet of it that, you know, location was that geographic constituent of it that does, frankly, make it I think, much appealing to immoderate arsenic a imaginable target.

CG: Well, I conjecture that begs nan question, I mean, really are we doing? You’ve done these tours. You know, are we, I don’t cognize what, connected a standard of 1 to 10 aliases for illustration a missive people average, like, really are we doing?

NN: There’s a batch of awesome collaboration present successful Alaska. And, you know, what was very clear to maine complete nan past 2 days, but frankly, moreover successful nan conversations I’ve had pinch our location teams successful nan months and years prior, that nan organization coming together here, and Alaska really has been instrumental, nan partnership, nan collaboration has been cardinal to helping each different to really coming up pinch caller and innovative ways to tackle challenges.

So I deliberation that there’s really been, that consciousness of organization and collaboration is highly beardown here. In Alaska, we really person 4 unit present successful Anchorage. We person cybersecurity advisors, beingness information advisors and emergency communications experts here. And they’ve been moving pinch authorities and section partners, pinch tribal partners and pinch nan backstage assemblage for a agelong time. And I deliberation that collaboration and business really has been cardinal successful building that resilience. I’m not judge there’s measurement to rack and stack entities aliases needfully to people them. But what we recovered is that nan communities that fundamentally are much collaborative are much resilient, and location is beardown collaboration and beardown resilience here.

CG: I conscionable person 1 much question: What is your email password?

NN: (laughs)