6 JANUARY 16, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cyber Command gives update on security after Iran air strikes
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
As tension continues to roil between
the United States, Iran and
its proxies across the Middle East,
Councilman Robert Holden, the
chair of the Committee of Technology,
was briefed on the city’s
heightened awareness toward the
potential of cyber attacks.
The conference call with Chief
Information Security Officer Geoff
Brown, head of the New York City
Cyber Command, Department of Information
and Telecommunications
Commissioner Jessica Tisch, came as
a follow up to Mayor Bill de Blasio
and the NYPD’s Jan. 3 update in
which they reiterated the city’s level
of preparedness after the killing of
Iranian General Qasem Soleimani,
and the ensuing missile retaliation
from Tehran.
“Just as the mayor and the NYPD
stated several times, there has been
no specific, credible threat of a cyber
attack against our city,” Holden said.
“It was very reassuring, however, to
learn from Cyber command all of
the great work being done to protect
New York from such threats.”
“Chief Brown and Commissioner
Tisch did an excellent job of explaining
the measures that have been
taken in past years to ensure a constant
heightened state of vigilance.
They have learned from previous
attempts to disrupt operations of
large companies, influence narratives
on social media and steal data
from agencies, and they are doing
everything in their power to protect
our cyber network from future
threats,” Holden added.
Meanwhile, Senator Charles
Schumer revealed that critical
bomb-detection equipment that can
help law enforcement spot suicide
vests, small explosive devices and
more at JFK and LaGuardia airports
as well as other crowded transit
hubs, remain in testing limbo from
where it must advance. Schumer
called on the federal government
and the Transportation Security
Administration, which has been
testing the technology since 2004,
to deploy the bomb-detection
equipment immediately.
“Amid tensions with Iran, security
concerns and the constant threat
of lone-wolf terror, which we have
already seen in our subway system,
the feds need to plot a course to
make this technology install-ready,”
Schumer said. “Whether the hurdle
is related to cost, complexity or
whatever else, the bottom line is
that we need to overcome it so law
enforcement can have another critical
intel tool at the ready.”
Schumer explained that the Stand
Off Explosive Detection Technology,
without using radiation, can indicate
if an individual is carrying or wearing
an explosive device giving law
enforcement the upper hand, but
only if it can advance from testing
limbo to priority approval status.
“For 16 years now, the TS has
been testing life-saving and terrorpreventing
technology with little
to no widespread adoption, and the
most shocking part about it is we’ve
seen it work,” Schumer said. “Two
years ago, I secured full testing
of this equipment at Penn Station
where the TSA lauded the trial
run, explained how the devices
can save lives. Without stopping a
single person in the midst of their
travels, and yet we still don’t see
this technology in wide use across
New York City or the nation’s busiest
transit hubs. The feds need to
explain what’s standing in the
way here so we can get to work on
addressing the cause.”
City Councilman Robert Holden, the chair of the Committee on
Technology, was briefed on cyber security amidst the recent turmoil with
Iran. QNS fi le photo
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