Biden urges strengthening critical infrastructure for national security, resilience
Ahead of the nation’s commemoration of November as ‘Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month,’ U.S. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation urging the nation to strengthen the country’s critical infrastructure and stay alert to threats that jeopardize collective security and economic well-being. He said that these disruptions, whether a natural disaster, a pandemic, or a cyberattack, exploit vulnerabilities in supply chains and make it more difficult to access critical products when people need them.
“State and non-state actors, such as criminals and violent extremists, continue to target our power grids, pipelines, health care systems, and water systems — threatening the infrastructure that underpins our economy, public health and safety, and national security,” President Biden said in his Tuesday proclamation. “As President, I am committed to building a better future for our country by making America’s critical infrastructure more secure and addressing the threats and hazards that place them at risk.”
President Biden said that bolstering the nation’s infrastructure is a cornerstone of his ‘Investing in America’ agenda. “With a combination of funding from the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, we are investing billions of dollars to enhance the security of our infrastructure by elevating roads and bridges above projected flood zones, supporting community resilience programs, reducing the strain put on our power grids, and so much more.”
“We know that to protect our critical infrastructure we must improve our cybersecurity. From the very beginning of my Administration, we have worked tirelessly to strengthen our Nation’s cyber defenses,” the proclamation identified. “During my first year in office, I issued an Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, a crucial step toward defending against the increasingly malicious cyber campaigns targeting our infrastructure. My Bipartisan Infrastructure Law builds on this progress by investing $1 billion to bolster cybersecurity for State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments.”
President Biden said that he is “proud to have appointed senior cybersecurity officials who are laser-focused on anticipating and responding to cyber threats and ensuring that the Federal Government leverages all of its resources to improve the cybersecurity of the Nation’s critical infrastructure. These priorities have been catalyzed by my National Cybersecurity Strategy released earlier this year, which lays out our strategy to enhance the cybersecurity and resilience of our Nation’s critical infrastructure and the American people.”
While the U.S. administration is investing to protect America’s critical infrastructure, it is also working with international partners to build sustainable, resilient infrastructure around the globe.
“At the G20 Summit earlier this year, through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, I was proud to unveil the launch of the landmark United States partnership with the European Union to develop the Trans-African Corridor,” Biden wrote. “We are working with partners to connect the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to regional and global trade markets through the Port of Lobito in Angola, including by launching feasibility studies for a new greenfield rail line expansion between Zambia and Angola. This reliable and cost-effective corridor will increase efficiencies, secure regional supply chains, enhance economic unity, generate jobs, and decrease the carbon footprint in both countries.”
He also added that “we hope to pursue opportunities to connect our initial investments across the continent to Tanzania and, ultimately, the Indian Ocean. Through quality infrastructure investments in key economic corridors like these, we are creating a better future filled with opportunity, dignity, and prosperity for everyone.”
New data released by the New York State Comptroller identified in October that cyberattacks are a serious threat to America’s critical infrastructure and can adversely impact day-to-day lives. These cybersecurity incidents in New York have risen 53 percent between 2016 and 2022, jumping from 16,426 incidents in 2016 to 25,112 in 2022, with ransomware and data breaches third highest nationwide over six years. Estimated losses in New York from cyberattacks in 2022 totaled over US$775 million, while losses nationwide totaled $10.3 billion in 2022, a figure being seven times greater than in 2016.
Last month, Biden released a proclamation ahead of the cybersecurity awareness month highlighting his administration’s renewed commitment to securing cyberspace and seizing the unlimited potential of the digital future. The president highlighted various measures adopted to make ‘cybersecurity a national security priority because cyber threats affect every sector of society, from the critical infrastructure that underpins our daily lives to the schools where we educate our children and the products we use in our homes.’
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