The National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. (NMFTA)™ is once again a champion—and it’s in a field where we’re already well-known for our commitment to helping keep the supply chain cybersecure.
NMFTA has signed on as a Cybersecurity Champion under the auspices of the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA)—a part of NCA’s promotion of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. It’s part of a continuing commitment, and NMFTA joins an impressive list of champions again this year.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance was established in 2001—a time when cybersecurity threats were very different than they are today, but when the federal government already recognized the growing nature of the threat.
Through the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the NCA was developed as a nonprofit to help support the efforts of government agencies, businesses, industries and individuals to stay a step ahead of cyber attackers.
“If you sign up to be a champion, you’re pledging to advocate for secure behaviors online,” said Cliff Steinhauer, director of information security and engagement at NCA. “It’s really about getting access to the tools and resources we put out during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We strive to provide enough good content and marketing material that someone can take that toolkit we provide and go out and run an event.”
That’s a natural for NMFTA, which has established itself over the course of recent years as the leading advocate of good cybersecurity practices in the trucking industry. Throughout the year, NMFTA works with carriers, industry groups and individuals to help prepare the trucking industry with information and strategies to ensure cybersecurity excellence.
Recent NMFTA blogs have discussed:
- The connection between cybersecurity strategies and protection against cargo theft;
- What the trucking industry needs to know about cyber insurance;
- The critical principle of zero trust in cybersecurity;
- The importance of cloud security; and
- How trucking companies can protect themselves from cybersecurity risks originating with third parties.
As Cybersecurity Awareness Month rolls on, NCA wants its champions and most importantly, America, to focus on four critical behaviors: Strong passwords, multifactor authentication (MFA), updating of software and recognizing/reporting phishing attacks.
“Doing these four things at work and at home will make your cybersecurity that much better,” Steinhauer said. “What we find too often is, when we go back and look at cybersecurity incidents or breaches, one or more of these things are not done to where they’re sufficiently protecting the organization.”
Of course, these are the very points of emphasis NMFTA has pressed with its members and others in the trucking industry in recent years – always culminating in the organization’s annual October Cybersecurity Conference.
This year’s conference will take place at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown in Cleveland, OH from October 27-29: www.nmftacyber.com.
