Just as we’re reminded – any time when we’re online – that we need to make sure we follow a few extra steps and take an extra minute or two to protect ourselves from being the victim of identity theft or a scam, it’s important to remind ourselves of the vital role critical infrastructure plays when it comes to the well-being of our state and our country.

Each year, in November, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) fulfills one of its responsibilities as the nation’s risk advisor, by leading the national recognition of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISR) Month.

In doing so, CISA is focused on educating and engaging all levels of government, infrastructure owners and operators, and the American public not only about its importance, but the agency also shares its knowledge and expertise on what it is we can do to strengthen the security and resilience of the assets that we define as part of that infrastructure.

Following on the enduring theme, “Resolve to be Resilient”, we are dealing with, every day, a continuing barrage of cyber and physical threats to critical infrastructure we rely on. What’s more, we’ve experienced record-breaking heat and destructive weather and fire events, as well as rapid advances in technology that have created its own set of cybersecurity risks.

Here in the Hoosier State, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) is involved with leading this effort by:

• Raising Awareness – The IDHS and its partners educate the public and private sector about the importance of critical infrastructure and the role it plays in the state's economy and security.
• Encouraging Participation – The IDHS calls on residents, businesses, and communities to take action to keep critical infrastructure secure and resilient. This includes incorporating cybersecurity and safety practices into daily routines and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement.
• Using the Indiana Business Emergency Operations Dashboard – During a crisis, the dashboard allows the private sector and government to share information in an interactive format.

Of course, in order to reach these goals, this ongoing effort will depend on the ability of critical infrastructure owners and operators to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and to withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions. It’ll require a whole-of-community responsibility to prepare and secure our state’s and nation’s critical infrastructure and protect the vital services it provides, so when something does happen, we are better able to respond to and recover from any impacts.

Resilience is defined as doing the work up front to prepare for a disruption, anticipating that it will in fact happen, and exercising not just for response but with a deliberate focus on continuity and recovery, improving the ability to operate in a degraded state, and significantly reducing downtime when an incident occurs. For its part, CISA works closely with critical infrastructure owners and operators, here in Indiana and nationwide, to help them reduce risk and build their security capacity to withstand these new and emerging threats and disruptions.

Yet, for all the work that can – and is – being done by those who are responsible for overseeing our critical infrastructure, there’s a role for all of us, regardless of the line of work we’re in, including:

• Organizations in the private sector that get started by fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• All of us adding our collective voices to social media conversations by using the hashtag #BeResilient to critical infrastructure issues and how they relate to the mission and security environment of your organization.
• Encouraging clients, stakeholders, and state, local, tribal, and territorial government counterparts to learn about critical infrastructure, dependencies, and the importance of this effort by visiting cisa.gov/CISR for more information.