Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles is establishing a Cybersecurity Command Center to address potential threats from hackers or terrorists to the city's infrastructure, including the network and grid of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation's largest municipal utility. The city's harbor and airport are among the busiest in the world.
- The city will coordinate response plans to cyberattacks with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.
Dive Insight:
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti cited warnings from the Obama administration that attacks on critical infrastructure could cripple the nation's economy. Legislation to address cybersecurity has been stalled in Congress, first over concerns by civil liberties groups and corporate interests—including utilities—about information sharing. Recent revelations about the extent of surveillance by the National Security Agency, which is an advocate of the bill, makes its passage even more problematic.