Page 168 - Cyber Defense eMagazine June 2024

mandate that those standards are followed. This would then set market conditions for enabling
technologies and help give rate regulators confidence that costs are reasonable and should be part of
utility rates.

Another area is the emphasis on resilience. Mandating resilience standards means that water sector
organizations will have responsibilities for planning, exercising, and building resilience in case incidents
do impact water supply. This makes it less likely that a cyber incident will have a significant cascading
impact on communities.

This kind of smart security and resilience regulation is a welcome additive to the purely voluntary
approach. It is intended to integrate cyber security and resilience into the “cost of doing business,” while
relying heavily on private expertise. It is particularly appropriate for the water sector given the current
risk environment.

Across many issues, today’s cyber and supply chain risk environment requires new strategies and
policies – and related structures – to meet the challenges.

The nation’s leaders have been clear that the system is “blinking red” in terms of threats. The related
changes needed to address them need to be met with appropriate urgency.

About the Author

Bob Kolasky is Senior Vice President of Critical Infrastructure at Exiger,
where he directs the development of cutting-edge third party and supply
chain risk management technology for the critical infrastructure
community. Bob is a widely-recognized expert with over two decades of
experience. He’s a Nonresident Scholar in the Carnegie Endowment’s
International Peace’s Technology and International Affairs Program, a
CSIS Senior Associate, and a Senior Fellow at Auburn University’s
McCrary Institute. Bob also served the OECD’s High-Level Risk Forum
Chair. He was the founding Director for CISA’s National Risk Management
Center, where he co-chaired the Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk
Management Task Force. Throughout his career, he’s worked for government agencies and contractors,
including DHS, GAO, Abrams Learning & Information Systems and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Bob Kolasky can be reached online at LinkedIn and at our company website https://www.exiger.com/

Cyber Defense eMagazine – June 2024 Edition 168
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