With the recent onslaught of cyber-attacks against institutions and infrastructure, President Obama has ordered the NIST to address the threat. The Automation Federation, complying with a request by the NIST, participated in the first NIST meeting for developing a national cybersecurity program.
At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), representatives from the Automation Federation on Wednesday of this week were invited to participate in the first NIST meeting for developing a national cybersecurity program called for by President Barack Obama.
The Wednesday meeting, held at the office of the United States Department of Commerce offices in Washington, DC, is an important step in establishing the Cybersecurity Framework within President Obama’s Executive Order announced in his State of the Union address to confront the growing threat of cyberattacks on our nation’s critical infrastructure. The Cybersecurity Framework will include “standards, methodologies, procedures, and processes that align policy, business, and technological approaches to address cyber risks,” and “help owners and operators of critical infrastructure identify, assess, and manage cyber risk.”
With the increase in automation technologies being used in manufacturing and their interconnectivity and control taking place online, more of our infrastructure is vulnerable than ever. By creating standards by which to operate by, our automation and digital infrastructure will be easier to defend against disruptions and attacks.
To read more about the NIST meeting and standards visit http://www.isa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Releases5&template=/TaggedPage/DetailDisplay.cfm&ContentID=92941
