New York Lawmakers Look to Fortify Critical Infrastructure
New York’s critical infrastructure could soon receive additional protection if the state’s Legislature passes a recently proposed bill that looks to implement more rigorous cybersecurity standards.
These standards would be applied to the state’s public transportation, water and wastewater treatment facilities, public utilities, public buildings, hospitals, public health facilities and select financial services organizations.
Other areas, such as automation and control system components, including hardware, software and policies involved in the operation of critical infrastructure, would also have to comply with these new standards.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Kevin Thomas, D-6, said. “There have been an increased amount of cyber attacks where hackers are just holding people hostage.”
“The bill looks to address this by updating systems to match international standards so that the state’s critical infrastructure is protected as much as possible,” Thomas said.