Securing Emergency Communications Centers – As US National Mission
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Emergency communications centers must operate 24/7 without interruption, so securing their cyber systems is a critical task. The US is currently testing a cybersecurity technology for the detection of attacks against emergency communications centers.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is expanding pilot testing of a technology to improve the cybersecurity defenses of emergency communications infrastructure. S&T funded SecuLore Solutions in the research and development of a cybersecurity defense solution based on predictive analytics and cyber data that helps detect and mitigate cybersecurity attacks against legacy emergency communications systems and new Next Generation 911 (NG911) and Internet Protocol-based technologies.
The company added the new capability to its existing cybersecurity solutions to provide near-real-time behavioral threat analysis of the traffic hitting an emergency communications center’s (ECC) network and recommend remediation steps that are based on the behavior and/or the type of malware, according to dhs.gov.
Each pilot partner will receive at least two months of piloting activity, which will include 24-hour oversight of the security operations center network, a weekly vulnerabilities report, and immediate notification of any critical vulnerability. These notifications will ensure each pilot partner understands the identified vulnerability and implements initial remediation steps.
During these pilots, SecuLore will capture feedback and insights from frontline users on the solution’s performance and capabilities. The collected information will help the company and DHS better understand how other ECCs would deploy and manage this technology.
The project supports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which ensures federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies have the necessary plans, resources, and training to support resilient, operable, and advanced interoperable emergency communications.
CISA leads the US effort to defend critical infrastructure against the threats of today and the evolving risks of tomorrow.
