A week before the midterm elections of the United States, The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security reached an agreement to defend US companies against cyber threats. This includes offering assistance to private companies in all aspects to mitigate cyber risks coming from the adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran.
As per the sources reporting to Cybersecurity Insiders, an agreement was by the DHS and Pentagon clarifying roles and responsibilities between them. The pact was signed to enhance US government’s readiness to respond to cyber threats and institute harmonized lines of efforts to secure, protect as well as defend the homeland.
The agreement was signed by Defense Secretary James Mattis and DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and was architected to boost sharing of intelligence, alerts, and info of malicious cyber activity and to reinforce the resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure.
Note 1- Most of the critical infra is operated by Private agencies in North America.
Kenneth Rapuano, the assistant secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security admitted that the recently held mid-term elections 2018 were protected from foreign interference due to the agreement.
The news is out now that Pentagon sent its 11 officials to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center on the day of mid-term polls to mitigate risks associated with any posing cyber threats. Even the National Guard units were also pressed into service to work with local and state staff to assist in cybersecurity needs in confirming the election results.
Note 2- All this could be achieved due to the order issued by the 45Th US president lifting restrictions for the Pentagon to aggressively push back against cyber attacks staged by foreign governments.
Note 3- Remember, the previous Obama administration imposed restrictions on the DHS and restricted it to play a free hand in mitigating risks associated with cyber threats emerging from adversary states like Russia and China.
