White Paper - Sharing Intel, Protecting Critical Infrastructure
"Without trust, we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate." — David
Horsager
In the context of cybersecurity and information sharing, this quote reveals that we have miles to go in the journey toward successful collaboration between the government and private sector. The passionate cybersecurity experts in both the government and private sectors have been stuck in cultures which have yet to fully recognize the capabilities and passions of each other. This lack of recognition and trust inhibits the timely sharing of valuable intelligence which will protect critical infrastructure. We must break down the cultural and process barriers to information sharing which are holding us back from true collaboration.
On April 30, 2024, the White House issued the National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, stating “While most of the Nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by non-Federal entities, which are primarily responsible for individual assets’ security and resilience, both Government and the private sector have a mutual responsibility and incentive to reduce the risk to critical infrastructure.” This white paper addresses the key obstacles to effective government and owner-operator information sharing which is essential to all parties reducing cyber risk. This paper also provides actionable recommendations to improve the culture and mechanisms of information sharing between the government and private sector.