The Port of Los Angeles has bolstered efforts to protect the port community from a potential cyber threat with the announcement of a new Cyber Resilience Center.
The “state-of-the-art port community cyber defense solution” was designed, according to officials, to enhance cybersecurity readiness and the ability to share intel with those in the supply chain on potential threats and recovery capabilities. The center, created in collaboration with stakeholders, will be run by technology company IBM.
“We must take every precaution against potential cyber incidents, particularly those that could threaten or disrupt the flow of cargo,” said Port Executive Director Gene Seroka. “This new Cyber Resilience Center provides a new level of awareness for our stakeholders by providing enhanced intelligence, better collective knowledge sharing and heightened protection against cyber threats within our supply-chain community.”
The past year has proven that ports play a vital role in the nation’s critical infrastructure, supply chains and economy, while also underscoring the importance of securing this ecosystem, IBM Security Services General Manager Christopher McCurdy said.
“The Port of Los Angeles is setting a new industry standard with a first-of-its-kind initiative to increase cyber readiness across the maritime community,” he said. “We’re able to provide the maritime ecosystem with the threat insights necessary to stay ahead of cyber threats and improve response time.”