Miami-Dade County launches new program in response to President Biden's call to secure infrastructure against cyberattacks

Recently, President Biden urged state and local leaders to take appropriate steps to secure and protect critical infrastructure from potential cyberattacks, especially ones emanating from Russia. Because much of the United States’ infrastructure falls under state and local jurisdiction, it will take a concerted effort from policymakers across the country to update and fortify energy, internet, water, and other crucial infrastructural systems.   

“Miami-Dade County is committed to ensuring the ongoing security of our systems from cyberthreats,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “The county engages with a variety of federal and state programs designed to further enhance the cyber resiliency of its infrastructure. Miami-Dade County continues to review and update its cybersecurity systems as new intelligence becomes available, applying best practices as outlined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ‘Shields Up’ recommendations.”     

Miami-Dade County cooperates with multiple cybersecurity information sharing organizations and law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels to ascertain current threats and report any abnormal activity. On March 30, Water and Sewer Department (WASD) Director Roy Coley spoke with Jim McCarthy and his team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, who have previously provided cybersecurity guidance for the energy sector.  The County Department and NIST will collaborate to produce cybersecurity guidance that can be applied by the water and sewer sector, which may also serve as a reference architecture for potential adoption by similar departments across the nation. Additional cybersecurity analysis of other critical infrastructure components operated by County Departments have also been discussed.   

County administration has no indications of, nor has it been notified of, possible or actual attacks against county systems either from internal security monitoring systems or external parties. In partnership with the Office of Emergency Management, a regular cadence of cybersecurity status calls has been established with Miami-Dade municipal partners to share the most up-to-date information and recommendations to counter current threats.