Electricity. Finance. Transportation. Our water supply. In Hack the Plant, podcast host Bryson Bort looks for answers to the question: Does connecting these sys...
Welcome to season 5! Our host Bryson Bort sits down with Institute for Security and Technology (IST) Executive in Residence for Public Safety & Security Josh Corman. Josh previously joined us on season 1, episode 2 to discuss his experience founding I Am The Cavalry, a grassroots organization focused on the intersection of digital security, public safety, and human life. Today, Josh walks us through his Cyber Civil Defense initiative UnDisruptable27 and his work to bolster the resilience of local critical infrastructure systems. What role can you play in making our communities more resilient? What risks do we face from a hybrid conflict? How can we better prepare for disruptions to critical infrastructure? “You inform, influence, inspire. You make sure people aren't blindsided, and even if they can't stop the natural disaster, they can at least prepare for it and make informed decisions and innovate locally,” Josh said. “And unlike natural disasters, where we only have a couple hurricanes a year, we may have concurrent unnatural disasters on plural U.S. infrastructure sites across the country with finite resources to respond and recover.”Join us for this and more on this episode of Hack the Plan[e]t. Hack the Plan[e]t is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
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40:09
From the Archives
For the final episode of the season, our host Bryson Bort reflects on four years and forty episodes of Hack the Plan[e]t, and picks a few favorites. Episode 8, DoD and Critical Infrastructure: https://hack-the-plant.simplecast.com/episodes/dod-and-critical-infrastructureEpisode 10, The Congressman, The Commission and Our Critical Infrastructure: https://hack-the-plant.simplecast.com/episodes/the-congressman-the-commission-and-our-critical-infrastructureEpisode 27, Managing Incident Responses to Critical Infrastructure Attacks: https://hack-the-plant.simplecast.com/episodes/managing-incident-responses-to-critical-infrastructure-attacksEpisode 28, Cyber Threat Intelligence Over the Past 25 Years: https://hack-the-plant.simplecast.com/episodes/cyber-threat-intelligence-over-the-past-25-yearsEpisode 36, Supporting Ukrainian Electrical Grid Resilience in Wartime: https://hack-the-plant.simplecast.com/episodes/supporting-ukrainian-electrical-grid-resilience-in-wartime-mxxhn2g3Hack the Plant is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
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23:07
Protecting Critical Infrastructure for Rural Electric Cooperatives
Bryson is joined by Carter Manucy, Director of Cybersecurity at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association to discuss rural electric cooperatives, the importance of collaboration, and the state of cybersecurity in the energy sector. With over two decades of experience in the sector, Carter was recently awarded E-ISAC’s prestigious Michael J. Assante Award for his leadership on initiatives to protect the grid and electric co-ops. How are cooperatives fostering a stronger cybersecurity culture? What are the unique challenges faced by rural electric cooperatives in the cybersecurity landscape? And what does Carter see in his crystal ball for the future of cybersecurity in the energy sector?“I think as a country, we’ve really got to pull together or else we're going to be behind the eight ball in a few years, and that could really look bad for everybody...power runs all of our lives,” Carter said. “If I had that magic wand, I think I would get rid of a lot of the politics that are there so that we can focus on getting funding to help in the areas that it really is needed, and move that needle forward.” Join us for this and more on this episode of Hack the Plan[e]t. Hack the Plant is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
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31:09
Reliability and Risks of the North American Power Grid
Bryson is joined by Sara Patrick, President and CEO at the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) to discuss cyber threats, mitigation strategies, and the United States energy infrastructure system. A lawyer by training, Sara led MRO’s enforcement group and compliance monitoring team for 16 years before stepping into her position as CEO. What risks does AI pose to maintaining a reliable grid? How does MRO build resilience into the Northeast bulk power grid? What do smaller organizations need to be able to mitigate threats? “When we think about operations, we're a lot of times focused on the bigger organizations. But from a cyber perspective, it really doesn't matter the size of your organization. You're all susceptible,” Sara explained. Join us for this and more on this episode of Hack the Plan[e]t. Hack the Plant is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
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28:06
Securing Embedded Systems
In this episode, Bryson sits down with MITRE EMB3D co-founder Niyo Little Thunder Pearson. For nearly 20 years, Niyo has been at the forefront of protecting critical infrastructure systems. He previously led incident response for American Express, directing the company’s Security Operations Center during the LulzSec and Anonymous attacks, and worked to develop an adversarial cyber defense program for the nation’s third largest gas utility at ONE Gas Oklahoma. Now, Niyo has co-founded MITRE EMB3D, a groundbreaking global threat network aimed at enhancing the security of embedded devices. What is MITRE EMB3D? Who is the intended audience? What problems is it trying to solve? “There is such a gap that exists today on what we understand and how risk averse these [embedded] devices are. They do well and they operate well. They're built for what they're doing in a safety context, but the security was never brought forward with it,” Niyo said. Join us for this and more on this episode of Hack the Plan[e]t. Hack the Plant is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
Electricity. Finance. Transportation. Our water supply. In Hack the Plant, podcast host Bryson Bort looks for answers to the question: Does connecting these systems, and others, to the internet leaves us more vulnerable to attacks by our enemies? We often take these critical infrastructure systems for granted, but they’re all becoming increasingly dependent on the internet to function. From the ransomware threats of Colonial Pipeline to the failure of the Texas power grid, it is clear our interconnectivity is also a significant source of risk. Hack the Plant walks through the world of hackers working on the front lines of cyber security and public safety to protect the systems you rely upon every day.
Hack the Plant is brought to you by ICS Village and the Institute for Security and Technology.
ICS Village is a nonprofit that equips industry experts and policymakers with the tools to better defend our critical infrastructure. We educate people on critical infrastructure security with hands-on examples, not just nerd stuff. Catch us at an event near you! www.icsvillage.com.
The Institute for Security and Technology is a nonprofit think tank with the mission to bridge gaps between technology and policy leaders to help solve these emerging security problems together. Learn more at securityandtechnology.org.
Listen to Hack the Plant, The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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