Megan Brown Comments on DHS’s Efforts to Combat Cyberthreats to Critical Infrastructure

August 7, 2018

Megan L. Brown, partner in Wiley Rein’s Telecom, Media & Technology and Privacy & Cybersecurity Practices, was quoted in an August 3 Law360 article about a new center the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is launching to combat cyberthreats to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The National Risk Management Center, announced July 31 during the National Cybersecurity Summit hosted by DHS, will coordinate joint efforts by government and the private sector to protect U.S. banks, electric companies, telecommunications providers, and other critical infrastructure operators from growing threats, according to the article.

Ms. Brown noted that even just a few years ago, “it was hard for companies to justify caring about and investing in cybersecurity.” However, faced with an increasingly severe threat landscape, companies have become more comfortable collaborating with other businesses and the government to share threat information, she said.

Ms. Brown who attended the cybersecurity summit and spoke on one of its panels, told Law360 that “the tone in the speeches” at this summit “seemed to be more urgent and alarmed than we’ve heard the government be on cybersecurity before.”

“It seems as though they’re seeing things that they’re worried about and want to accelerate the good work that’s already going on in the private sector, and this is an effort to put that on steroids a little bit,” she added.

Ms. Brown also pointed out that a voluntary security framework for critical infrastructure operators, developed in 2014 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has been adopted by a wide range of noncritical businesses.

The Law360 article can be found here (subscription required).