October 26, 2023 at 10:08AM
Congress passed a bipartisan bill to fund the federal government for another 45 days, averting a shutdown. The Office of Management and Budget advised agencies to prepare for a potential shutdown in mid-November. A shutdown could increase insider threats, motivate nation-state actors to attack, hinder regulatory requirements, and affect understaffed agencies. All organizations should prioritize cybersecurity regardless of government funding.
Summary of Meeting Notes:
– Congress passed a bill to fund the federal government for 45 days, avoiding a shutdown for now.
– Office of Management and Budget has instructed agencies to prepare for a potential shutdown.
– If a shutdown occurs, hundreds of thousands of federal employees may be furloughed.
– A shutdown could lead to insider threats and disgruntled employees, potentially collaborating with cybercriminals.
– Nation-state actors may take advantage of the uncertainty during a shutdown to conduct cyber attacks.
– The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) may operate at a reduced level, hindering threat monitoring and education efforts.
– Public companies may struggle to handle material incident disclosure if government agencies are furloughed.
– Understaffed agencies need to be prepared to defend against cyber attacks.
– .gov websites became inaccessible during the previous shutdown in 2019 due to expired TLS certificates, putting personal information at risk.
– Many government agencies have not updated their contingency plans.
– Both public and private sectors should focus on improving cybersecurity readiness to mitigate risks.