TSA to Mandate New Cybersecurity Measures for Railroads, Airlines

Yesterday Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the Transportation Security Administration will impose a new cybersecurity mandate on the railroad and airline industries. Under the new mandate, the industries will be required to meet a new cybersecurity baseline and as part of the ‘security directive’, TSA will require higher-risk railroad and rail transit entities to report cyber incidents to the federal government, identify cybersecurity point persons and put together contingency and recovery plans in case they become victims of cyber attacks. According to Mayorkas, the directive will be issued by the end of the year.

Yesterday, the Biden Administration pushed several new initiatives as officials attended several events amid cybersecurity awareness month to promote new efforts and urge companies to better protect themselves.
Also, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that for the first time the DOJ would impose substantial fines on government contractors or companies that receive federal funds when they fail to follow cybersecurity standards like reporting ransomware attacks.