TSA Requires Rail and Airports to Strengthen Cybersecurity

guest · Dec 6, 2021

December 3, 2021

The Biden administration said the requirements made public Thursday are part of a broader effort at protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure from ongoing cyberespionage and a surge in disruptive ransomware attacks.

“These new cybersecurity requirements and recommendations will help keep the traveling public safe,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. He had previously previewed the new regulations in October.
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The new TSA directives require most passenger and freight rail operators to identify a cybersecurity point person, report incidents within 24 hours to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, conduct a vulnerability assessment and develop a contingency and recovery plan in case of malicious cyber activity.

They go into effect at the end of the year and the TSA said it is making similar changes to requirements for airport operators.
The TSA said it is recommending but not mandating cybersecurity requirements to some smaller and lower-risk rail and airport operators.
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Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that the TSA has crafted new cybersecurity directives without enough transparency and input from affected industries.

“We believe that care must be taken to avoid unnecessarily burdensome requirements that shift resources away from responding to cyberattacks to regulatory compliance,” a group of Republican senators said in an October letter to DHS’ Office of Inspector General asking for a review of TSA’s process for developing new cybersecurity regulations.
Victoria Newhouse, a TSA deputy assistant administrator, said at a congressional hearing Thursday that the agency had worked closely with private industry officials in crafting the regulations.
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guest · Dec 6, 2021

TSA will force train and plane operators to tell the feds when they've been hacked
December 2, 2021

US airlines and railroads will have to report cyber breaches to the federal government, the Biden administration said Thursday, as officials warn of increasing danger from attempted hacks.

Since the crippling ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline earlier this year, US authorities have scrambled to implement measures to help protect critical infrastructure in the US from cyber attacks.
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Under the new Transportation Security Administration mandates, major rail operators will be required to designate a cybersecurity coordinator, report cybersecurity incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within 24 hours, complete a vulnerability assessment and develop a cybersecurity incident response plan.

Airport and airline operators will also be required to designate a cybersecurity coordinator and report cybersecurity incidents within 24 hours.
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"Cybersecurity incidents affecting transportation are a growing, evolving and persistent threat," Victoria Newhouse, TSA's deputy assistant administrator, told the House Transportation Committee on Thursday. "Across US critical infrastructure, cyber threat actors have demonstrated their willingness and ability to conduct malicious cyber activities targeting critical infrastructure by exploiting the vulnerability of operational technology and information technology systems."
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