Axio’s founder David White in conversation with AGA CIO Jim Linn

Optimizing risk intelligence while securing the nation’s energy delivery infrastructure.

Since 2013, Axio has empowered companies to understand their cybersecurity, cyber risk, and make actionable improvement decisions. One of our oldest and closest relationships in the energy space is with the AGA and its 200 natural-gas-utility member companies. David and Jim recently connected via Zoom to discuss their experiences on how to leverage risk tools and frameworks, address cybersecurity challenges in the energy industry, and plan for today’s shifting threat landscape due to COVID-19 as well as its blended attack surface successor.

Some highlights below:

• AGA’s 200 member companies needed a tool to understand their cybersecurity programs, focus on the cybersecurity capability maturity model, and justify current spending as well as prioritize future investments. In the past member companies were using cumbersome excel-based tools that lacked flexibility and ease of use.
• For the better part of a decade, Axio has had the privilege to assist AGA member companies in assessing their cybersecurity posture and quantifying cyber risk. Axio’s easy to use web-based platform has enabled AGA member companies to rank their risk and prioritize areas for improvement, enabling organization-wide communication in measurable terms.
• Remote work has created a new work model with more complex human workflows and more risk scenarios. This expanded attack surface bears more low hanging fruit for those with malicious intentions.
• A certain percentage of staff may remain remote indefinitely. Accommodating for the new blended attack surface will mean entirely new processes for supporting the support ecosystem that will be created to maintain it.

Critical infrastructure operators have the daunting task of covering thousands of threats all day every day,  while an attacker needs to be successful at only one thing- Jim Linn

You can watch video highlights of the interview here.