On February 21, 2024, President Biden signed an Executive Order and issued several federal rules aimed at improving the cybersecurity of U.S. ports and maritime supply chains. The measures introduce new cybersecurity requirements and standards for stakeholders of the U.S. Marine Transportation System (MTS) and increase the authority of the U.S. Coast Guard in its ability to address cyber threats. These rules are part of a broader effort to improve the nation’s cybersecurity presented in a prior Executive Order issued on May 12, 2021 (for more information, please see this earlier post). Alongside the Executive Order, the Biden administration announced a plan to invest in the domestic manufacturing of port cranes to reduce reliance on foreign-built infrastructure potentially used by nation-state and financially motivated attackers to disrupt U.S. organizations.
The new initiatives presented by the White House to bolster maritime cybersecurity and prevent the interruption of MTS operations are threefold. They include (i) an Executive Order, (ii) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Cybersecurity in the MTS issued by the Coast Guard, and (iii) a Maritime Security Directive on…
