Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Aug. 31st signed an executive order to bolster California’s preparedness and response to destructive cyber-attacks, which increase the state’s vulnerability to economic disruption, critical infrastructure damage, privacy violations and identify theft.
The order directs the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to establish the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC), which will be responsible for strengthening the state’s cybersecurity strategy and improving inter-agency, cross-sector coordination to reduce the likelihood and severity of cyber-attacks. Cal-CSIC will work closely with the California State Threat Assessment System and the U.S Department of Homeland Security and will facilitate more integrated information sharing and communication with local, state and federal agencies, tribal governments, utilities and other service providers, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations.
Under the order, Cal-CSIC will also establish a multi-agency Cyber Incident Response Team to serve as the state’s primary unit to lead cyber threat detection, reporting, and response in coordination with public and private entities across the state.