Los Angeles has created the first municipal-backed cyber lab. The lab is a public-private partnership that will disseminate information and intelligence based on analysis of more than one billion security-related events and over four million attempted intrusions into city networks per day.
Los Angeles has partnered with Cisco on the lab and will pull data from the city’s Cyber Intrusion Command Center, which monitors local data networks. The lab will alert small and medium-sized business partners to attacks as they occur, and larger businesses can receive automated updates to their own cyber defense systems. Businesses can access the alerts for free.
Over time, city officials say that they will work with businesses to share information back and forth about attacks. “The security of our financial, business and personal information depends on aggressive, proactive cyberdefense — and the LA Cyber Lab will help tilt the balance in Angelenos’ favor against evolving threats from criminal hackers,” said Mayor Garcetti in a statement.
The lab makes Los Angeles one of the first cities in the US to share its threat data with the public in addition to local businesses. In the coming year, the LA Cyber Lab and the city will launch an “Innovation Incubator,” which will use a simulated city network as a testing ground for new cyber defense technologies, and give local high school and university students experience working in a security environment.
The Mayor also announced the formation of the LA Cyber Lab Advisory Board to be led by Mayor Garcetti and Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. It will convene regularly to further develop the platform and help residents and businesses better protect their online communications and data from cyberattacks.
LA Cyber Lab Advisory Board members include:
– AEG, Inc.
– Amazon
– ByteCubed
– Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
– CGI
– Cisco Systems, Inc.
– City National Bank
– Creative Artists Agency
– Dell Technologies
– Dollar Shave Club
– Los Angeles Homeland Security Advisory Council
– Motorola
– Microsoft
– National Cyber-Forensics Training Alliance
– O’Melveny and Myers, LLP
– Riot Games
– Southern California Edison
– Westfield LLC
