Pennsylvania PUC Recognizes Cybersecurity Awareness Month 

In a press release, the Pennsylvania PUC recognized National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure that consumers have the resources to stay secure online while increasing national resilience against cyberthreats.

“Our utility systems – including electric, natural gas, water, telecommunications and transportation networks – are keys to keeping our communities safe and productive, which makes them prime targets for bad actors,” noted PUC Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, who also chairs the Critical Infrastructure Committee for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). “We all play a role in cybersecurity, at home and at work, educating ourselves about ever-evolving cyberthreats and taking steps to #BeCyberSmart.” 

The national theme for this year’s cybersecurity campaign is: “OWN IT. SECURE IT. PROTECT IT.” The education effort focuses on the role of each individual in online safety and stresses the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity at home and in the workplace. The PUC encourages every Pennsylvanian to review these Cybersecurity materials and remain vigilant online. 

Also, a new comprehensive suite of Cybersecurity resources was released this summer by NARUC, helping to better equip public utility commissions to understand and address this critical issue.  The NARUC Cybersecurity Manual provides tools for regulators to gather and evaluate information from utilities about their cybersecurity risk management practices. 

“The more our state public utility commissions are educated about cyber issues, the better we are able to evaluate current challenges and target future enhancements,” noted Chairman Brown Dutrieuille. 

Along with the new national resources, the PUC has developed Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small and Medium Pennsylvania Utilities Guide, available on the Commission’s website. 

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The Regulatory Mix Today: Pennsylvania PUC Recognizes Cybersecurity Awareness Month, FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel Podcast with Girl Scouts CEO

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FCC's Rosenworcel Releases New Podcast Episode with Girl Scouts CEO 

FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel has released a new podcast episode featuring Sylvia Acevedo, the CEO Of the Girl Scouts of the USA. She is also a longtime advocate for STEM education, engineer, and author of “Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist.”   

“It was an honor to speak to Sylvia and hear about her work with the Girl Scouts to build a better future for every girl. On this episode, listeners will hear about how it was Sylvia’s own Girl Scout troop leader who noticed her early interest in space and encouraged her to earn a science badge by building a model rocket. That experience led Sylvia down a path to eventually becoming a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Listeners will also hear how under Sylvia’s leadership girls in troops are encouraged to take on science, technology, math, and engineering projects and pursue badges like cybersecurity. In fact, as a result of her efforts, during the past six months over 84,000 Girls Scouts have earned badges in cybersecurity.” 

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.