As geopolitical tensions sharpen and cyber operations move into the shadows of critical infrastructure, non-profit organization MITRE published a fact sheet on its December 2024 national-level tabletop exercise, offering a glimpse into how government and industry leaders are grappling with the growing possibility of a sustained cyber assault across American installations. The white paper lays down five steps to prepare critical infrastructure for a cyber war, including creating a civil defense mindset, managing limited resources during emergencies, planning for operations under extreme conditions, strengthening emergency communications systems, and ensuring workforce readiness for emergencies.
Authored by Mark Bristow, Irving Lachow, Meredith Keybl, and Lisa Mackin, the MITRE white paper draws on insights from more than 200 participants across 70 public and private sector organizations who took part in a national-level simulation of prolonged cyber disruption. The exercise revealed a stark reality that isolated breach response is no longer sufficient. As adversaries target the interconnected systems that power the nation’s electric grids, water infrastructure, transportation networks, and emergency communications, the priority must shift toward strategies that enable sustained resilience. Survival in this new threat environment hinges on the ability to operate through persistent attacks, not just recover from them.
The publication summarizes key takeaways from MITRE’s tabletop exercise and subsequent stakeholder discussions on infrastructure resiliency, societal preparedness, and coordinated national-local responses. It delineates observations, challenges, and actionable recommendations, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, contingency planning, and operational readiness for prolonged cyber disruptions. Furthermore, while security considerations limit the findings shared in the document, full details are available to U.S. critical infrastructure owners/operators and government entities.
MITRE detailed that stakeholders stressed the need to prepare the public for disruptions to essential services like electricity, water, telecommunications, and transportation during a cyber conflict. Infrastructure owners must collaborate with federal, state, and local governments to align restoration priorities and coordinate emergency responses.
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