Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has signed an Executive Directive creating a City of Los Angeles Cyber Intrusion Command Center to lead cybersecurity preparation and response across city departments. The Center will be led by the Office of the Mayor and will include assistance from the FBI and Secret Service.
The Directive is designed to create a plan and defend the city’s public safety infrastructure from hackers and other cyber attacks. The effort is significant given the size and complexity of a city like Los Angeles.
The directive calls on all city agencies and offices to contribute time and personnel to the command center. In the Directive, the Mayor notes the federal cybersecurity directive issued by President Obama earlier this year. That document looks to be the model for the Los Angeles plan. The Secret Service will also provide assistance along with the FBI. The Mayor has set a timeline of 10 days for setting up the working group, which will author the plan and issue recommendations for action.
Guidance in the directive already includes some action items like calling for a review of password security, maintaining up to date anti viral software, and assessing insider risk. Business continuity planning is also on the agenda.
“Today, our traffic lights, our routing system for trash pick-up, and so much more are electronic. Cybersecurity means protecting the basic services at the core of city government, and it means protecting our critical infrastructure like our port and airport, which we know are top targets,” the mayor said in a statement.
The full text of the directive is available here.
