By Illinois Radio Network
About 1,000 emergency responders from around the state are focusing on cyber-security and other safety matters during training this week.
One focus of the 2018 Training Summit in Springfield, sponsored by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, is mass shootings. Another is securing critical infrastructure.
Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Richard Hayes said cyberspace has become part of the critical infrastructure for everyday life, like sewer and electric utilities.
“And because the systems were never designed to be closed systems, they’re open architecture, that has allowed nefarious actors, other nation states, terrorists or cybercriminals to take advantage of these weaknesses in not only our existing internet systems, but now it extends to critical infrastructure, the very things that enable our very lives,” Hayes said.
Hayes said the Illinois National Guard joins with other stakeholders with cyber protection teams to support the state’s critical infrastructure through coordination, training and advising.
Illinois Terrorism Task Force Chairman Mike Chamness said attendees are learning how to better secure networks. He said he’s pushing for local governments to partner with a state network monitoring program that alerts agencies of suspicious activity.
“We want to spread that beyond state agencies to local municipalities, to police departments, fire departments and to public schools,” Chamness said.
Eliminating as much vulnerability online as possible is important, he said.
“Creating a clean internet environment for state and local agencies, public safety agencies and other agencies and public schools we think is a mission that we ought to be tackling and we’re going to,” Chamness said.
The conference in Springfield runs through Thursday.
