Coinciding with some unconfirmed global alerts of possible cyber attacks by Russia, in the face of the conflict with Ukraine, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, and the Governor of New York , Kathy Hochul, along with the mayors of Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, today unveiled the new Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC) that will bolster the state’s ability to combat cybersecurity threats.
New center, based in Brooklyn, will be the first of its kind to coordinate cybersecurity efforts across New York State, helping foster collaboration among federal entities , state and city.
The state president clarified that there is no immediate increase in the threat of attacks by Russia or its allied entities, but that the new command center would help prepare the various state government software systems for any scenario.
“Given the increasingly volatile geopolitical circumstances. We can no longer act independently,” Hochul specified.
Mayor Adams also signed the Executive Order on Tuesday 10, which sets forth the roles and responsibilities of the Cyber Command (NYC3) under the direction of the City’s Office of Technology and Innovation, overseen by the New York City Chief Technology Officer. (CTO) Matt Fraser.
The order also requires each city agency to designate a liaison that will work with the Office of Cyber Command to share information, monitor threats, and adopt best practices around cyber security.
“Technology runs our water, controls our electricity and notifies us during an emergency, so attacks Cyber attacks have the ability to bring our entire city to a standstill, if we are not prepared,” Mayor Adams warned.
In the midst of the global dynamics of computer hacking, the city’s Legal Department was hacked last year.
To avoid any similar incidence, the new agency liaisons would help ensure that city offices implement best cybersecurity practices.
“Our city is a main target for those who want to cause destruction, and although the Cyber Command of the New York City is already a national model, to prevent these threats, it is time for our cybersecurity to go to the next level”, highlighted the municipal president.
New York’s leadership in finance, energy, transportation, health care, and other critical fields make the state an attractive target for cyberattacks that can disrupt operations, including vital infrastructure and services for citizens.
Some background information
As tensions between Russia and the United States rise due to the co conflict with Ukraine, alerts have been raised of cyber attacks that could start with “hacks” on personal accounts.
As tensions between Russia and the United States increase, due to the conflict with Ukraine, have raised alerts of cyber attacks that could start with “hacks” to personal accounts.
As a first step, to improve the state’s cybersecurity, the governor said that she included $62 million for cybersecurity initiatives in their proposed budget 2023.
Furthermore, officials from the US Department of Homeland Security informed the Voice of America (VOA) that “for the time being, there were no specific or credible threats that would indicate that attacks on computer systems in the country are about to be unleashed.
There are some antecedents, for example the NotPetya virus , June 2017, designed by the intelligence service Russia’s military ia, targeted a Ukrainian accounting website, but then affected companies around the world, including Danish shipping giant Maersk and US-based courier company FedEx