The government of Puerto Rico has announced a partnership with the Multi-State ISAC to improve cybersecurity across agencies on the island, including through access to continuous monitoring services and launch of a cyber awareness campaign.
“With an investment of $7.6 million, the government of Puerto Rico established a new initiative aimed at strengthening cybersecurity measures in government agencies with the Multi-State Information Sharing Analysis Center, a component of the Center for Internet Security,” according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.
“This commitment is a continuation of the longstanding, supportive relationship between CIS and Puerto Rico,” said Carlos Kizzee, senior vice president at CIS. “This effort, led by the commonwealth, will not only further protect the island, but can also serve as a model for what other U.S. states and territories can do to secure government systems and information. We are committed to supporting the government of Puerto Rico in securing the island’s infrastructure for many years to come.”
The governor’s office explained that DHS and CISA have “delegated responsibility for cybersecurity from local and territorial governments to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security (CIS). The agreement provides Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) services; this [is] in partnership with CrowdStrike, a leading provider of this type of service.”
Nannette Martínez Ortiz, interim executive director of Puerto Rico’s Office of Innovation and Technology Services, said "this new effort positions Puerto Rico at a level well above other jurisdictions in cybersecurity matters and matches us with the most competitive areas of the private sector. In addition, it will significantly reduce the security risk, continuing with a progressive decrease as the necessary adjustments are made adapting to the needs of the Government.”
Martínez said, “It will also help minimize or prevent the impact of any cyber phishing/ransomware attack that we may experience in the Government of Puerto Rico, since we will have a monitoring service 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year by the Security Operations Center of the MS-ISAC in New York." – Charlie Mitchell (cmitchell@iwpnews.com)