Biden Earmarks Billions To Ramp Up Port Cybersecurity

The Biden administration has continually demonstrated a willingness to leave U.S. borders vulnerable to foreign threats, the White House announced this week a new initiative aimed at bolstering the security of the nation’s ports.

Using more than $20 billion from the bloated $1.1 trillion infrastructure spending bill President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021, the stated goal of this program is to prevent cyberattacks from foreign adversaries.

Reports indicate that one of the major steps involves producing all cargo cranes domestically within the next five years.

As it stands, nearly 80% of the large cranes used at American ports are built by ZPMC, a Chinese manufacturing company. The new initiative provides funding for the U.S. to fund a Japanese company to produce the cranes in America.

The administration is also pushing for stricter federal compliance mandates regarding how port operators address the threat of an attack.

Comparing the strategy to existing standards regarding safety regulations, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberg explained: “We want to ensure there are similar requirements for cyber when a cyberattack can cause just as much if not more damage than a storm or another physical threat.”

Cyberattacks on American infrastructure have already occurred, as evidenced by a ransomware demand in 2021 that led to the interruption of oil delivery by Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest operations in America.

Neuberger stressed the Biden administration’s belief that “there was a real strategic risk” involving the nation’s ports, and the Chinese-produced cranes in particular, “because they are essentially moving the large-scale containers in and out of port.”

She noted that “if they were encrypted in a criminal attack or rented or operated by an adversary, that could have real impact on our economy’s movement of goods and our military’s movement of goods through ports.”

Coast Guard Cyber Command leader Rear Adm. John Vann expressed similar concerns.

“By design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced, and programmed from remote locations,” he said. “These features potentially leave [People’s Republic of China]-manufactured cranes vulnerable to exploitation.”

If the new standards are implemented following a public comment period, the Coast Guard will receive new authority to respond to any cyberattacks involving the nation’s ports.