BE PREPARED

A top White House official on Thursday underlined preparations the Biden administration is taking for any potential cyberattacks over the upcoming Labor Day weekend, urging companies to be on alert against hackers.

Being extra safe: Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters at the White House that both the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) were monitoring for cybersecurity concerns, but stressed that there were no specific threats on the radar.

“We have no specific threat information or information regarding attacks this weekend, but what we do have is history, and in the past over holiday weekends, attackers have sometimes focused on security operation centers that may be understaffed, or a sense that there are fewer key personnel on duty as they may be on vacation,” Neuberger said.

“Indeed, a long weekend can sometimes make attackers feel they have extra time to navigate in before they are detected,” she said. “So as the long weekend comes, we want to raise awareness, and this need for awareness is particularly for critical infrastructure owners and operators who operate critical services for Americans.”

Who’s involved: Neuberger said that the U.S. intelligence community was monitoring for threats, and that the FBI and CISA are “fully postured and fully prepared” in order to “rapidly” respond to any cybersecurity incidents.