USDOT’s Schachter Stresses Importance of Cybersecurity in Transit
11/19/2024
APTA recently hosted a conversation for its members with Cordell Schachter, chief information officer at USDOT. Since 2021, Schacter has served as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Transportation for information technology, cybersecurity, privacy, and records management.
Schachter described how his three priorities—cybersecurity, workforce development, and IT system modernization—drive the improvement of the department’s IT portfolio and guide its use to achieve USDOT’s mission: to deliver the world’s leading transportation system and serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods.
Schachter explained that USDOT manages and improves its cyber health by aligning to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). He advised APTA members that “We can no longer separate cybersecurity from safety” and that we must develop our teams to use best practices to “get cybersecurity right” to perform our mission through accessing the right resource at the right time for the right reason.
Resources from the USDOT, as well as FTA and APTA, were shared during the conversation:
https://www.transportation.gov/cio
https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/cybersecurity-assessment-tool-transit-catt
https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/standards/security/
https://www.apta.com/research-technical-resources/safety-security/cybersecurity-resources/