Connected Communities are communities (e.g., rural, suburban, and urban) which leverage networks of connected technologies to provide more efficient, innovative, and sustainable infrastructure across the nation.
Increasingly, localities across the United States and internationally are implementing “smart” connected technologies across critical infrastructure sectors, seeking cost-savings and enhanced quality-of-life for their citizens. The interconnectedness and interdependence of these smart technologies introduces an expanded attack surface, increasing the potential for malicious activity and, ultimately, cybersecurity compromise.
CISA’s Role
The Connected Communities Initiative (CCI) represents a shift in CISA’s focus from exclusively supporting the security and resilience of 5G networks, to the comprehensive examination of the technologies in which those networks are intended to enable. Integrating a greater number of previously separate infrastructure systems into a single network environment expands the digital attack surface, increasing opportunities for threat actors to successfully exploit a vulnerability for initial access, move laterally across networks, and cause cascading, cross-sector disruptions of infrastructure operations. The possible impacts due to these risks have prompted CISA, through the National Risk Management Center (NRMC), to establish this initiative to develop, organize, and coordinate risk mitigation strategies relating to smart and connected technologies.
