The U.S. Transportation Security Administration recently issued a new cybersecurity amendment on an emergency basis to the security plans of specific TSA-regulated airport and aircraft operators.
The move follows similar measures for passenger and freight train carriers announced in October and was made public after intensive consultation with aviation partners, according to a March 7 news release. The move is "part of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to increase the cybersecurity resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure and follows extensive collaboration with aviation partners."
“Protecting our nation’s transportation system is our highest priority, and TSA will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders across all transportation modes to reduce cybersecurity risks and improve cyber resilience to support safe, secure and efficient travel,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in the release. “This amendment to the aviation security programs extends similar performance-based requirements that currently apply to other transportation systems' critical infrastructure.”
Due to ongoing cybersecurity threats against critical U.S. infrastructure, such as the aviation industry, TSA is implementing the amendment immediately, according to the release. Impacted TSA-regulated companies are now required to create an authorized implementation plan outlining the steps they're taking to protect against cybersecurity threats and avoid infrastructure and deterioration.
The companies must also proactively evaluate the success of the measures through developing network segmentation policies and controls to ensure operational technology systems can continue to safely operate if an information technology system has been compromised, the release reported.
Other assessments include creating access control measures to secure and prevent unauthorized access to critical cyber systems; implementing continuous monitoring and detection policies and procedures to defend against, detect and respond to cybersecurity threats and anomalies that affect critical cyber system operations; and reducing the risk of exploitation of unpatched systems through the application of security patches and updates for operating systems, applications, drivers and firmware on critical cyber systems in a timely manner using a risk-based methodology, the release reported.
