DHS’s cyber division has stepped up protections for critical research, official says

DHS’s cyber division has stepped up protections for critical research, official says
Written by May 22, 2020 | CYBERSCOOP

The Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity wing says it has put heightened defense measures for health-care-focused organizations and research facilities in place as foreign government-backed hackers continue to try to steal U.S. coronavirus research.


“I just want you to know that we have stepped up our protections of [the Department of Health and Human Services] and [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] — our federally-funded research organizations,” Bryan Ware, assistant director of DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told industry executives Friday. “[We’ve] significantly accelerated that work.”


CISA is regularly scanning the internet-connected devices of top pharmaceutical companies and research institutions for vulnerabilities and trying to get them fixed quickly “because we are seeing adversaries that are targeting them right now,” Ware said on a webinar focused on CISA contracting opportunities.


Ware cited efforts by China and other unnamed governments to target vaccine research, echoing recent warnings from CISA and the FBI. China has denied the allegations. On Thursday, the FBI offered U.S. companies new details on the scope of hacking during the coronavirus pandemic, describing ongoing efforts to steal “proprietary research of U.S. universities and research facilities.”


Ware, who became CISA’s assistant director for cybersecurity in January, also said his agency is focused on preventing a disruptive ransomware attack on the U.S. cyber division stepped protections critical research official