CISA Set to Open London Office

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has announced plans to open its first Attaché Office in London later this month.

The Virginia-headquartered agency, which sits within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said the office would help improve collaboration between itself, UK government officials and “other federal agency officials.”

It claimed the move would boost its efforts to promote four key strategic goals abroad:

• Advancing operational cooperation
• Building partner capacity
• Strengthening collaboration through stakeholder engagement and outreach
• Shaping the global policy ecosystem  

CISA’s first UK attaché is Julie Johnson, who previously worked as regional protective security advisor for the agency in New York, leading research on microgrids, internet communications and physical-cyber convergence.

“As America’s cyber-defense agency, we know that digital threat actors don’t operate neatly within borders. To help build resilience against threats domestically, we must think globally,” said CISA director Jen Easterly.

“I’m thrilled for CISA’s first international Attaché Office to open in London – true operational collaboration is a global endeavor.”

Founded in 2018, CISA has quickly risen to become an indispensable resource for US and global organizations, connecting them to each other and government resources to help reduce cyber-risk impacting digital and physical infrastructure.

Among its most noteworthy interventions in recent years have been joint pronouncements with UK and US agencies attributing state-sponsored attacks to hostile nations.

CISA also launched a new initiative last year designed to improve cyber-hygiene in federal government and civilian organizations. The Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog now contains hundreds of “must-patch” bugs with strict deadlines for US federal agencies to adhere to.

CISA already has strong ties to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a branch of spy agency GCHQ which acts as a similar focal point for government-civilian security efforts.