Feds Look to Work with States on Cybersecurity

A lot of potentially hackable infrastructure controls are operated on the state level

Now that Web-based technologies control everything from the electric grid to the water supply, cyberattacks on critical infrastructure have become the most pressing threat to national security, according to a national intelligence report to Congress.

Andy Ozment, senior director for cybersecurity at the White House, embraced states as key partners in efforts to secure the nation's assets.

"You own and operate critical infrastructure," he said Tuesday at a meeting of National Association of State Chief Information Officers. "Your own services constitute critical infrastructure in ways that are hugely important. We have to work with you to identify those portions of your systems and networks that are the most important and the most critical, and share with you whatever resources we can to help you secure those."