Cyber Security Team 2 Wrap Up

Team Members:
Ian McPherson, Apprion/NASA, WINA President
Tom Good, DuPont
Kevin Staggs, Honeywell
Johan Nye, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering
Pat Gouhin, AF Director

Meetings (with Congress/Senate and/or staffers):
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Congressman James Langevin (D-RI)
Senator John Warner (R-VA)
Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Highlights:
Many of the Members of Congress and the Senate that the team met with this week were chosen for their positions on many relevant committees and subcommittees, such as the Homeland Security Committee, the Cyber Security Subcommittee, and others.

One of the most promising meetings held was with Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin. Representative Langevin just introduced the Homeland Security Network Defense and Accountability Act of 2008 (H.R. 5983) on May 8, a bill designed to improve the cyber security posture of the Department of Homeland Security. Our message and his initiatives were very timely and staff member Jake Olcott, Subcommittee Director and Counsel, spent over 60 minutes with the team, which is very rare and shows the level of interest that Congressman Langevin has in this area.

Olcott was particularly interested in ISA99 and the interaction that we have had with NERC & NIST. The team discussed the significant additional costs associated with individual sector security plans and how synergies could be created by coordinating efforts based upon the common fundamentals and principles of control systems. Olcott identified points of contact that should be made in other agencies and offered to take the lead in introducing us to those key people.

During the meeting, Johan Nye communicated that "security is a journey, not a destination–it doesn't end. Everyone needs to understand that." One government official noted that "it is scary that you haven't been a resource to us yet." He reinforced that the Automation Federation can bring a much needed perspective to the issue.

As a follow up to the meeting, Olcott requested that the team attend the hearing on Cyber Vulnerabilities' Electric Grid Security Impacts, held later in the day. This was a hearing of the Emerging Threats, Cyber Security, and Science and Technology Subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security, and offered the team great insight into the current work being done in the committee.

Additional meeting summaries will be available tomorrow.