Showing results by author "Cybersecurity-and-Infrastructure-Security-Agency" in All Categories

Identity and access management (IAM) is a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies that facilitate the management of digital identities to ensure that users only gain access to data when they have the appropriate credentials.

Malicious cyber actors recognize our dependence on technology and constantly attempt to exploit this reliance for financial or strategic gain. Too often, they succeed. Their success is enabled by an environment of insecurity, in which our enterprises are too difficult to defend, and our technology products are too vulnerable to protect.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) created this factsheet to inform organizations—especially those that support critical infrastructure—about the impacts of quantum capabilities and to encourage the early planning for migration to post-quantum cryptographic standards by developing a quantum-readiness road map.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is committed to leading the response to cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities to safeguard the nation's critical assets. Section 6 of Executive Order 14028 directed DHS, via CISA, to “develop a standard set of operational procedures (playbook) to be used in planning and conducting cybersecurity vulnerability and incident response activity respecting Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) Information Systems.

I am proud to share the 2023–2025 CISA Strategic Plan, the first comprehensive Strategic Plan since CISA was established as an agency in 2018. The strategic plan represents a forward-leaning, unified approach to achieving our vision of ensuring secure and resilient critical infrastructure for the American people.

As a public good, open-source software is supported by diverse and wide-ranging communities—which are composed of individual maintainers, non-profit software foundations, and corporate stewards. CISA must integrate into and support these communities, with a particular focus on the critical OSS components that the federal government and critical infrastructure systems rely upon.

Every organization in the United States is at risk from cyber threats that can disrupt essential services and potentially result in impacts to public safety. Over the past year, cyber incidents have impacted many companies, nonprofits, and other organizations, large and small, across multiple sectors of the economy. The identification of destructive malware is particularly alarming given that similar malware has been deployed in the past - e.g., NotPetya and WannaCry ransomware - to cause significant, widespread damage to critical infrastructure.

Reducing your organization’s cyber risks requires a holistic approach - similar to the approach you would take to address other operational risks. As with other risks, cyber risks can threaten. Managing cyber risks requires building a culture of cyber readiness. 

As a leader, you need to drive your organization’s approach to cybersecurity as you would any other hazard (e.g. how you identify risk, reduce vulnerabilities, and plan for contingencies). This requires an investment of time and money, as well as the collective buy-in of your management team. Your investment drives actions and activities, and these build and sustain a culture of cybersecurity.

Determine how much of your organization’s operations are dependent on IT. Consider how much your organization relies on information technology to conduct business and make it a part of your culture to plan for contingencies in the event of a cyber incident. Identify and prioritize your organization’s critical assets and the associated impacts to operations if an incident were to occur.

Pursuing a career in cybersecurity is not as straightforward as other more traditional professions. Doctors and lawyers serve as great examples. In most countries, including the United States, an advanced academic degree is required for each, along with an occupational license. Although there are exceptions to the rule, the general process includes completion of high school, earning a bachelor’s degree, entrance exams and completion of a master or doctoral program, on-the-job training (residencies and internships), and state or multi-state license examinations.

Ransomware is a form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering them and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption.

These cybersecurity authorities—herein referred to as “authoring organizations”—are aware that communities may seek cost-savings and quality-of-life improvements through the digital transformation of infrastructure to create “smart cities".

Threats from synthetic media, such as deepfakes, present a growing challenge for all users of modern technology and communications, including National Security Systems (NSS), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), and national critical infrastructure owners and operators.

Remote access software and tools comprise a broad array of capabilities used to maintain and improve IT, operational technology (OT), and industrial control systems (ICS) services; they allow a proactive and flexible approach for organizations to remotely oversee networks, computers, and other devices.

The purpose of this publication is to provide organisations with guidance on how to use AI systems securely. The audio summarises some important threats related to AI systems and prompts organisations to consider steps they can take to engage with AI while managing risk. It provides mitigations to assist both organisations that use self-hosted and third-party hosted AI systems. The guidance within this publication is focused on using AI systems securely rather than developing secure AI systems.

This document recommends guidelines for providers of any systems that use artificial intelligence (AI), whether those systems have been created from scratch or built on top of tools and services provided by others. Implementing these guidelines will help providers build AI systems that function as intended, are available when needed, and work without revealing sensitive data to unauthorized parties.