New York Joins Forces Against Cyber Threats

The need for cybersecurity is here to stay and will only continue to evolve in scope and necessity as the digital age advances.

To meet that challenge, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in July 2022 the formation of the Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC) to “serve as the nerve center for joint local, state and federal cyber efforts, including data collection, response efforts and information sharing.”

Headquartered in Brooklyn, JSOC will give participants a central viewpoint of threat data. “This will yield better collaboration on threat intelligence, reduction in response time and quicker remediation” when a cyber incident happens, according to the governor. Perhaps most importantly, this will give participants a way to find and address threat trends that otherwise may have gone undetected.

This is the first time a state has brought together cyber teams at this scale, according to the governor’s office.

Participating entities include state-level organizations such as the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services; cities including Albany and Buffalo; and utilities such as the New York Power Authority. “There is a new type of emerging risk that threatens our daily lives, and just as we improved our physical security infrastructure in the aftermath of 9/11, we must now transform how we approach cybersecurity with that same rigor and seriousness,” Hochul said. “Cybersecurity has been a priority for my administration since Day 1, and this command center will strengthen our ability to protect New York’s institutions, infrastructure, our citizens and public safety.”

This article appeared in somewhat different form in our guide, “Innovations 2022: Conversations That Matter. To read more about how agencies across the country, download the guide.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay