Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has issued a statement indicating the agency’s renewed focus on U.S. cybersecurity and revealing a number of actions to address existing cybersecurity issues, The Hill reports.
This includes an increase in cybersecurity spending through Federal Emergency Management Agency grant awards and a review by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency into possible resources that may be tapped to strengthen the defenses of the country’s critical infrastructure against digital threats.
The Secret Service will be tasked to use its Cyber Fraud Task Forces to apprehend ransomware attack actors that have targeted schools, hospitals and other critical organizations in the past year. Mayorkas also plans to promote CISA’s new ransomware awareness campaign and participate in several events over the next few weeks to discuss cybersecurity and will also reach out to international partners for talks on cyber defense.
“Cybersecurity is more important than ever, and we will build on the Department’s excellent work as we transform our whole-of-government approach to tackle the challenge we face as a nation,” Mayorkas said.
Jill Aitoro is senior vice president of content strategy for CyberRisk Alliance. She has more than 20 years of experience editing and reporting on technology, business and policy. Prior to joining CRA, she worked at Sightline Media as editor of Defense News and executive editor of the Business-to-Government Group. She previously worked at Washington Business Journal and Nextgov, covering federal technology, contracting and policy, as well as CMP Media’s VARBusiness and CRN and Penton Media’s iSeries News.
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