Security Coalition Urges Mandatory OT Standards for Federal Agencies

The Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition urged the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to establish mandatory security requirements for operational technology across federal civilian agencies. This proposal follows a Government Accountability Office report that found only seven of 22 reviewed civilian agencies had fully met requirements to inventory their networked OT and Internet of Things devices. John Gallagher warned about necessary remediation efforts involving the General Services Administration.

The coalition is calling for a binding operational directive that would require agencies to designate a senior official for OT security and integrate OT risk into enterprise risk management. Agencies rely on OT in over 8000 General Services Administration-managed facilities, including hospitals and ports of entry, which increases the compliance and operational burden on the federal government.