At a glance.
- How the EU's new cyber regs could affect ports.
- NSA and CyberCom chief nominee follows in predecessor’s footsteps.
- Hate crime grants highlight cybersecurity.
How the EU’s new cybersecurity regulations could impact Dutch ports.
The EU has approved expanded cybersecurity regulations that will now include “a broader range of organizations, including important providers of online platforms and suppliers of core infrastructure services.” According to Marijn van Schoote, Manager, IT Service Management, Operations & Cyber Security of the Port of Rotterdam, the updated Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) will impact an increased number of port stakeholders. “If you look at the ports nowadays, so I think one or two, maybe five companies have to comply with NIS1. If you look at NIS2, more than a hundred companies who are the big terminals, but also the smaller terminals also will have to comply,” van Schoote told AJOT. The new rules will also hold company boards and CEOs more accountable for violations and could lead to higher costs for companies that need to take additional measures like hiring consultants or purchasing new software. That said, credit rate agency Moody’s predicts that companies that comply could benefit from improved interest rates that could balance out these increased cybersecurity costs.
NSA and CyberCom chief nominee follows in predecessor’s footsteps.
As US President Joe Biden’s nominee for the new head of US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA), Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, prepares for his first Senate confirmation hearing today, former officials say he bears a resemblance to his predecessor, Army General Paul Nakasone. Retired Lt. Gen. Charles “Tuna” Moore, who served as the Nakasone’s number 2 until last year, told the Record, “This is somebody that will remain very calm, open-minded and clear-headed in the most difficult or trying of times. I saw that from General Nakasone, I see those same characteristics in Tim Haugh.” Haugh has more than thirty years of experience as a military intelligence officer and served as the deputy commander for Joint Task Force Ares, a special unit focused on fighting the Islamic State online. He went on to serve as the command’s director of intelligence and was chosen to lead the Cyber National Mission Force before becoming Nakasone’s number two, his current position. Jon Darby, NSA’s former director of operations, notes that Haugh worked with NSA’s then co-chief Anne Neuberger to combat foreign interference in the last midterm elections. They “really paved a lot of new ground and helped set the direction ultimately for what we built off of that small group for subsequent election influence operations,” Darby states. If confirmed, Haugh will be right in the middle of the fight for Section 702, a soon-expiring measure that allows intelligence agencies to search foreign communications, as well as the continued debate over whether the dual-hat leadership over NSA and Cyber Command is the most appropriate strategy.
Hate crime grants highlight cybersecurity.
Kathy Hochul, governor of the US state of New York, announced yesterday that $51 million in state grants will be awarded to nonprofit organizations through the State’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes grants program. It’s the largest amount of funding the program has ever offered, and StateScoop notes that for the first time the state has allocated funds for cybersecurity enhancements to the tune of $9 million. Of the 1,081 planned security enhancement projects including, 187 will be cybersecurity-focused. Over nine hundred hate crimes were reported in New York in 2022, an increase of 20% over the previous year, and the funding is intended to help community organizations that might be targeted due to their ideology or mission. Hochul stated, “This is a historic investment in the communities that need our help the most, and with these funds, New York’s most at-risk organizations will be able to invest in the security measures they need to stay safe.”