Page 151 - Cyber Defense eMagazine Special RSA Conference Annual Edition for 2022

Nonetheless this is changing rapidly. Just recently, in March of 2022, the Biden administration and the
DoT’s “Federal Transit Administration… awarded $409.3 million in grants to 70 projects in 39 states to
modernize and electrify America’s buses, make bus systems and routes more reliable, and improve their
safety”. These grants and economic supplements “support modernizing and improving the most
widespread form of transit in America and will help dozens of communities buy new-technology and
electric buses, such as electric buses, that reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, promote
cleaner air, and help address the climate crisis” this being in addition to the millions already received in
the bill. Biden also has advanced the Trucking Action Plan which aims to “[build] supply chain resilience
through better quality trucking jobs…[and increase] federal funding to expedite issuance of commercial
driver's licenses, expanded outreach efforts to veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and
established a joint initiative between the Departments of Labor and Transportation to expand recruitment
and advocate for employees”.

The Biden administration is working hard on these issues, yet it still seems to neglect the cyberspace
aspect of programs, focusing largely on economic measures and efficiency rather than defending against
cyberattacks and network intrusion, with the closest item being supply chain resilience. A stronger
emphasis on improving the transportation system’s cyber responses is a necessity given how at risk the
sector is to problems.

About the Author

Alan Cunningham is a Journalist with multiple national security and
human rights organizations including Truth Be Told, ReaperFeed, and
the foreign policy think tank Quo Vademus. He has been published in
various other publications including The Diplomat, Modern Diplomacy,
Security Magazine, the National Institute of Military Justice, The Crime
Report of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the Jurist of the
University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is a graduate of Norwich
University and the University of Texas at Austin and hopes to gain a PhD
in History from the University of Birmingham and a JD from St. Mary’s
School of Law. He is a sexual assault advocate and volunteers his time
to Combat Sexual Assault. He can be reached on Twitter at
@CadetCunningham.

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