Cybercrime Support Network is honored to announce the $625,000 second-year renewal of a cooperative agreement with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to continue the development of a State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) Reporting and Threat Information Sharing Pilot Project. In addition, CISA has awarded CSN a Cooperative Agreement in the amount of $625,000 to develop a SLTT National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Cyber Pilot.
In October 2019, CISA awarded CSN a $1 million cooperative agreement to pilot an SLTT reporting and threat information sharing system to enhance awareness of threats, improve prevention efforts, help individuals and small businesses, and improve the cybersecurity of the nation. As a part of that pilot in 2020, CSN launched the Cyber Resource Catalog, a searchable, online catalog of resources available for individuals and small businesses impacted by a cyber incident or issue to assist in response, reporting, and security reinforcement after a cyber incident occurs. In year one, CSN also designed and developed prototype processes and systems to better collect and share threats with SLTT agencies. With such success in 2020, CISA renewed the cooperative agreement for a second year. In 2021, CSN will work to test and improve these prototypes and continue to add content and improve functionality of the Victim Resource Catalog.
The new NIEM-related Cooperative Agreement will allow CSN to take its work to support cybercrime victims further by helping to establish the use of common language for cyber incidents in SLTT agencies. Through the development of a NIEM Cyber Domain, CISA is promoting a common vocabulary which will allow for the efficient exchange of information among public and private agencies. A common vocabulary for cyber threats is important to ensure that when one person says “event” and another says “incident,” for example, our computers automatically know they mean the same thing. CSN’s work will apply the NIEM Cyber Domain to SLTT agencies, helping agencies to share cyber incident information and incorporating the cyber and physical sectors to ensure a holistic government response.
“CSN’s mission is to serve individuals and small businesses impacted by cybercrime,” said Kristin Judge, CEO and founder of CSN. “To date, we have served over 705,000 individuals and small businesses via Fightcybercrime.org. With CISA’s continued support and partnership, we can expand our efforts to build a national program to meet the needs of those affected by a cyber incident.”