Representative Laurel Lee (R-FL) discussed protecting America's pipelines from cyberattacks in a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, where witnesses argued that this was the greatest threat to the nation's critical infrastructure.
"My home state of Florida is a large producer of electricity and relies heavily on pipelines to deliver energy," Rep. Lee began, turning to Chesapeake Utilities Vice President Jim Moriarty to say, "You mentioned that one of the top risks you perceive for pipeline safety is, in fact, cybersecurity. Would you share with us a bit more about the cyberthreat landscape you are seeing and how you are partnering with federal agencies like the FBI and CISA [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] to meet that threat?"
Moriarty replied by describing how Chesapeake makes use of what they nicknamed a "DMZ" [demilitarized zone], which prevents hackers from accessing sensitive digital information from a company's public website.
"Every day we have threats," Moriarty continued, "We have a scoreboard where we see threats coming in in real time. Because of the investments we have made, most of those are stopped before they become a real threat. However, if there is a threat, it is sequestered, and then it is studied by our team, and then we report that to the various authorities, the FBI, and others, and we have briefings constantly with the federal parties to help us grow."
Rep. Lee then turned to Liquid Energy Pipeline Association CEO Andrew Black, asking for his perspective on the importance of sharing information in the realm of cybersecurity.
Black answered by saying that cybersecurity is comparable to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) improvement of safety standards, and Congress needs to authorize a public advisory committee to aid companies in their efforts.
As a result, the Florida Congresswoman followed up with, "I think it is important to explore something you just touched on, which is the concept of being able to share that kind of information in a safe space. Would you elaborate a little bit more on the types of things that can happen if we do not create an environment like that?"
The Liquid Energy Pipeline Association's CEO stated that pipeline operators currently share information among themselves, but the federal government is currently unable to share it in confidence. As a result, he reiterated the need for Congress to authorize such an advisory committee, allowing for this confidentiality.
