Two nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting critical infrastructure sectors in North America announced an agreement to share cybersecurity information. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®) and the Downstream Natural Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center (DNG-ISAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to share cyber threat information that will enable stronger protection for both sectors.

The MS-ISAC, part of the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®), based near Albany, N.Y., has been designated by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as the key resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response, and recovery for U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governments. The DNG-ISAC serves natural gas utility (distribution) and pipeline (transmission) companies by facilitating communications between participants, the Federal Government, and other critical infrastructures in the U.S. and Canada.

The new agreement will strengthen the cyber and physical defenses of the energy sector, and meet one of the goals of the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission — Promote National Resilience. SLTT organizations, meanwhile, will benefit from cross-sector awareness, as the SLTT government sector relies on the natural gas utility and pipeline companies (for distribution and transmission) to ensure governments and citizens have the power they need.

“This partnership with the DNG-ISAC will further cross-sector cyber threat intelligence, helping ensure that all communities will have the best cybersecurity protections and that critical infrastructure remains fully and continually operational,” said Stacey Wright, MS-ISAC Director of Partnerships.

“The private sector and the U.S. Government are constantly searching for ways to better share actionable threat information,” said John Bryk, DNG-ISAC Cyber and Physical Threat Intelligence Analyst. “We look forward to our expanded sharing environment and thank the MS-ISAC for their partnership.”

The MS-ISAC began operations in 2004, and has since built and nurtured an environment of collaboration and information sharing. Through its state-of-the-art 24x7x365 Security Operations Center, the MS-ISAC serves as the central resource for situational awareness and incident response for SLTT governments, including Chief Information Security Officers, Homeland Security Advisors, and Fusion Centers.