Declarations

Once Is Enough

“We can’t talk a whole lot about the hack itself, because obviously we don’t want this to happen again.”

— Sana Syed, spokeswoman for the city of Dallas, speaking about the hack of the city’s emergency siren system late on April 7 that triggered intermittent false alarms from the city’s 156 sirens for about an hour and a half. Dallas officials have asked the Federal Communications Commission for help in determining who was behind the hack.

Could Have, Should Have

“This incident could have been prevented.”

— U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairwoman and CEO Vanessa Allen Sutherland speaking of the release of a large chemical cloud over Atchison, Kan., in 2016 that sent more than 140 people to the hospital. A CSB investigation found that human error and labeling and design problems led to the chemical release from MGP Ingredients that occurred when a delivery truck driver inadvertently unloaded sulfuric acid into a tank that contained sodium hypochlorite.

People May Panic

“I have a feeling that on February 14 of next year, there will be a lot of people panicking. This is what everybody should be thinking about.”

— Jeff Taft, a partner at Mayer Brown, stated during a panel discussion at the Mayer Brown offices in New York explaining the New York State Department of Financial Services’ cybersecurity regulation, which went into effect March 1. The panelists discussed steps to compliance before the deadline for the first annual certification filing with the DFS on Feb. 15, 2018, and what the new rules mean for directors and officers liability.

Emergency, then Urgency

“Though the emergency nature of the disaster has passed, the urgency of long-term recovery remains. The success of the recovery will affect the economic health and well-being of our entire state, so it’s vital to rebuild these communities.”

— North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, in a request to Congress for nearly $1 billion to help North Carolina counties still recovering from Hurricane Matthew. The request is in addition to approximately $1.4 billion in state and federal funds North Carolina has already received.

Topics Cyber North Carolina