CISA CyberSentry Program Launches Webpage

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published a blog and webpage on the CyberSentry program, a CISA-managed threat detection and monitoring capability with critical infrastructure partners that operate significant networks supporting National Critical Functions (NCFs): cisa.gov/CyberSentry

The CyberSentry program enables our agency to proactively hunt for malicious cyber activity, advise on mitigation strategies, and provide critical infrastructure partners with recommendations for improving overall network and control system security. The new CyberSentry webpage includes an informational video about the program, a fact sheet and details on how to contact CISA CyberSentry program.

Critical infrastructure organizations are experiencing network intrusions at an increasing frequency. To enhance detection of threats, CISA operates CyberSentry, which is a voluntary, proactive program that leverages its capabilities and partners with a select number of critical infrastructure organizations.

CyberSentry technology supports sensing and monitoring for information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) networks. CyberSentry has added significant value to both CISA’s national mission and to our partners’ enterprise cybersecurity efforts.

Recent successes include:

- Infected OT Equipment: CyberSentry discovered an infection on a partner’s Human Machine Interface (HMI) equipment that had not been properly patched and secured. CISA analysts quickly notified the partner about the issue and offered guidance on preventive techniques for the future.

- Unintentional Exposure: CyberSentry tools spotted cleartext authentication occurring on a partner’s network, and further investigation revealed that a misconfiguration had caused the issue. A detailed report was provided to the partner, including specific guidance on remediating the situation.

- Private Sector Coordination: During the Colonial Pipeline disruption, CISA analysts coordinated closely with its pipeline partners to share information and monitor for adversary activity.

- SolarWinds Response: CyberSentry data helped to quickly identify partners affected by the SolarWinds supply chain compromise. All impacted partners were notified, and the program worked closely and expediently with these partners to confirm remediation of the threat.

- Identification of Malicious Activity: On multiple occasions, CISA analysts identified possible malicious activity at partner sites and worked with affected partners to identify the root causes of activity.

- Malware Discovery: CyberSentry tools quickly discovered and identified malware in a partner’s IT network. Working with the partner, CISA analysts were able to locate the infected device so the partner could remove it from the network and verify that the threat was contained.

- Attacker Exfiltration Detected: CyberSentry discovered that an attacker was actively exfiltrating information. CyberSentry worked with the partner to identify information that had been exfiltrated. After conferring with CyberSentry analysts, the partner was able to isolate infected systems that same evening, eliminating the threat.