Robert M. Lee
As cyber threats grow in scale and sophistication, America’s most critical and vulnerable systems - our power grids, water supplies, and gas pipelines - are increasingly in the crosshairs. These systems, known as Operational Technology (OT), are the invisible backbone of our daily lives – they’re what makes critical infrastructure, critical. Yet when it comes to cyber defense, OT has too often been treated as an afterthought, overshadowed by traditional IT-focused cybersecurity strategies and left exposed to adversaries intent on sowing disruption. Underinvestment has been matched with under preparation. OT networks are too often left unmonitored, and incident response plans are under-developed, or often nonexistent. Speedily addressing these vulnerabilities is a national security imperative. Fortunately, we have a ready resource available to lead OT-related cybersecurity preparation and incident response in the U.S. National Guard.
Why the National Guard? No other federal force combines local presence, dual federal-state authority, and deep operational ties with civil and private-sector counterparts the way the Guard does. With units in every state and territory, the Guard is uniquely suited to respond swiftly and cooperatively to attacks on critical infrastructure assets in communities across the country. The Guard has well built, well prepared, and capable cyber-focused units already that offer a strong foundation to build from.
I was honored recently to be tasked with creating national OT incident response plans as part of the 91st Cyber Brigade of the Virginia National Guard, in conjunction with other federal policymakers to help address the nation’s shortcomings in OT incident response. I am now working with these partners to build out the concept of the National Guard as a critical cyber incident response resource. This mission stems from a Congressional mandate to U.S. CYBERCOM to improve OT defenses and response. I am confident that with the ideas that we are developing, the personnel we are hiring and training, and with new authorities and reforms from Congress and the executive branch, the Guard can scale its mission to provide this badly needed line of defense, leaving our nation much safer.
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