EPA Highlights New National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, April 30, 2024, the White House issued a new National Security Memorandum (NSM) to secure and enhance the resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure. The NSM will replace a decade-old presidential policy document on critical infrastructure protection and launch a comprehensive effort to protect U.S. infrastructure against all threats and hazards, current and future.

"Cybersecurity and climate change threats pose serious risks to the drinking water and wastewater services that people in this country rely on every day, and recent cyber attacks on water systems underscore the urgency of increased and coordinated action to protect public health and the environment," said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. "The Biden-Harris Administration is leading a comprehensive effort to secure our nation's critical infrastructure against all threats, and the efforts outlined in the new National Security Memorandum are vital to ensuring that EPA and other federal entities are taking the necessary steps to safeguard public health and our economy."

The NSM will help ensure U.S. critical infrastructure can provide the nation a strong and innovative economy, protect American families, and enhance our collective resilience to disasters before they happen - strengthening the nation for generations to come. This NSM specifically clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the lead federal agencies identified to improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure sectors against all hazards. EPA is the official sector risk management agency with respect to the water sector. The NSM also implements a coordinated national approach to assess and manage sector-specific risks.

Thanks to the President's Investing in America agenda, as well as the emergence of new technologies, America has a historic opportunity to build for the future. Good investments require taking steps to manage risk, and for our water infrastructure, that means building in resilience to all hazards upfront and by-design. Through the President's Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced nearly $50 billion to modernize the nation's water infrastructure. These resources, including more than $23 billion in drinking water and clean water State Revolving Funds, can be used to support a broad range of approaches to build resilience to all hazards, including climate resilience and cybersecurity threats.

The nation faces an era of strategic competition where state actors will continue to target American critical infrastructure - and tolerate or enable malicious activity conducted by non-state actors. In the event of crisis or conflict, America's adversaries may attempt to compromise our critical infrastructure to undermine the will of the American public and impede the projection of U.S. military power abroad. Resilience, particularly for our most sensitive assets and systems, is the cornerstone of homeland defense and security.

Further, the growing impact of climate change, including changes to the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, as well as supply chain shocks and the potential for instability, conflict, or mass displacement, places strain on the infrastructure that Americans depend upon to live and do business.

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National Security Memorandum

2023 National Intelligence Strategy

EPA Cybersecurity for the Water Sector

SOURCE: USEPA

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