OPINION: Alaska’s cyber resiliency is important to all of us

The first time flying into Alaska, you are immediately impressed by the size of everything — the mountains, expansive glaciers, fjords, marshlands and valleys. What may not be immediately apparent to those who may not had the opportunity to visit this amazing state is that the state is a lot like an island, separated from the Lower 48, yet reliant on the same critical infrastructure systems to maintain life for its residents.

This fact informed the design of the Secure Our Alaska conference held in Anchorage recently and organized by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The event brought together people from all corners of the state with one goal in mind — to bolster resiliency in the face of outside threats that could disrupt the daily lives of Alaskans and our nation.

Think about the water we drink, the electricity that lights our homes, the gas we get at the pumps, and all the other essential functions that keep our society running smoothly: These are all products of our critical infrastructure. They are so vital to our nation that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health, or safety.

Our role at CISA is to work with the owners and operators of this critical infrastructure and help them embrace resiliency and build it into their preparedness planning — and then exercise those plans.

Recently, I was able to visit Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Chugach Electric Association and the Don Young Port of Alaska — assets that are critical not just for Alaskans but the entire nation. Back in 1935, Brigadier Gen. Billy Mitchell testified before Congress that “Alaska is the most strategic place on Earth.” Those words are even more true today, especially as it relates to cybersecurity. Alaska is very much on the front lines of the threat landscape and those visits with our partners here brought home for me the importance of building strong relationships with our infrastructure partners.

Alaska’s strategic importance cannot be overstated. From the seaports and airports, the military presence, and the state’s proximity to vital shipping routes along the Bering Strait makes it critical to national security as well as our economy.

Alaska is unique in so many ways from the Lower 48. For example, a disruption in service at a port in the Lower 48 means engaging with private and public partners to identify alternative ports that could be used to continue securing shipments. Here, in Anchorage and other ports across Alaska, if one port goes down due to a cyberattack, the effect — and options for recovery — are significantly more challenging to overcome, if at all.

Working closely with our partners at the ports and other critical assets in Alaska, we can, together, build the resiliency needed both to withstand attacks and recover quickly. That only happens when everyone is willing to come to the table and share information. At the conference in Anchorage, I was impressed by the level of collaboration. This collaboration is key to coming up with novel and innovative ways to tackle challenges, together.

In fact, just this month, there were three cyber events in Alaska that CISA responded to, in coordination with state and local organizations. We would not have been able to help if the entities attacked weren’t willing to partner with us. Additionally, over the last month, CISA helped organizations in Alaska identify hundreds of vulnerabilities through our free cyber hygiene scanning. We are grateful for those partnerships and hope to build many more as we work together to build cyber resilience across the state.

In Alaska, CISA has cybersecurity advisors, election security advisors, protective security advisors, and emergency communications experts ready to support you. They are here to work with state and local partners, tribal partners, and the private sector to collaborate and strengthen defenses against cyberattacks.

Overall, our goal at CISA is to continue to strengthen collaboration with our partners to enable a common understanding of threats and hazards through information sharing and by increasing preparedness to protect vital infrastructure and information systems. We offer our services, for free, to you. Reach out to us at CISARegion10@hq.dhs.gov if you need our help. We welcome it.

We recognize that in Alaska, you pride yourselves on being self-sufficient. But I am encouraged by your willingness to work with us to improve Alaska’s cybersecurity footprint and improve the overall safety of this state and our nation. CISA stands strong with our Alaskan partners to keep this “island” state protected and safe from cyberattacks.

Nitin Natarajan serves as deputy director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

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