Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey Attorney General

On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, the COP co-hosted a Cyber Security Conference with the Urban Areas Safety Initiative (UASI), PSEG, and the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications and Integration Cell (NJCCIC) at MetLife Stadium.  Opening remarks were given by the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Jared Maples, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachel Honig.  Opening speakers stressed the importance of cybersecurity and the importance of government agencies and private companies being able to work together to protect the public.

“Threat Landscapes” Panel

There were several panels which brought together representatives from both the government and the private sector.  The first panel, “Threat Landscapes,” discussed the latest cyber threats, regulatory trends, and enforcement actions.  Panelists included Justin Herring, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Prevention & Enforcement Unit; Christian Schorle, FBI Supervisory Special Agent; Brenda Fischer, Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; and Tom Doughty, Prudential Chief Information Security Officer.  The panel was moderated by Tim Ryan, Partner at Ernst and Young, and US Cyber Investigations Leader.

“Public-Private Partnerships” panelists

The second panel, “Public-Private Partnerships” explored the ways the public and private sectors can form partnerships in information sharing, proactive investigations, and incident response.  Panelists included Rich Richard, United States Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Advisor; Lieutenant Cy Bliestine, New Jersey State Police Regional Computer Forensic Lab Lead; Brett Yeager, FBI Supervisory Special Agent; and Major Walter F. Drajon, Jr, New Jersey Air National Guard Commander of the 140th Cyberspace Operations Squadron.  Many of the panelists gave examples of how the government worked with the private sector to combat and prevent cyber attacks.  Lieutenant Bliestine stated that agencies and private companies cannot keep information in silos away from each other and that outreach is important on both sides to share information about potential cyber threats.

“What Companies are Doing to Combat the Threat” panelists

During the third panel, “What Companies are Doing to Combat,” panelists from various companies and organizations discussed how they respond to cyber threats.  Panelists included Jonathan Branksy, PSEG Information Intelligence, Compliance and Policy Manager; Michael Gergel, Rutgers Universty Chief Security Office; and Rob Raffaele, American Water Manager of Information and Cyber Security.  Panelists offered examples of threats they have faced and lessons they have learned while fighting against cyber attacks.  Many big companies face the issue of protecting multiple systems with various data types that need to be protected.  Gergel discussed the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that Rutgers faced a few years ago, and said that it is important to have an enterprise or one-IT perspective where systems need to be regularly patched and procedures put in place to protect from data breaches while also using active defense instead of reactive after an attack is already happening.

NY Giants Superbowl trophies

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Christian Schorle also presented a case study about a cybersecurity attack on critical infrastructure, showing how important it is for private companies who are responsible for major utilities like water and electricity to work with government agencies to protect critical infrastructure from being compromised.  The event ended with a tour of MetLife Stadium where conference participants were able to see the press box, the New York Giants Legacy Club which features all of their Super Bowl trophies, and a trip down to the sideline of the field.