Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

TSA rule would require cyber risk management for railroads

image of laptops and cables to suggest computer hackers

Proposed rule follows White House warning about China hacking efforts against trucking sector.

The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) yesterday proposed a rule that would mandate some surface transportation owners and operators, including those running pipelines and railroads, to meet certain cyber risk management and reporting requirements.

The new rule would require:


  • Owner/operators of pipelines and/or railroads that have a higher cybersecurity risk profiles to establish and maintain a comprehensive cyber risk management program;
  • Owner/operators that are currently required to report significant physical security concerns to TSA to also report cybersecurity incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and
  • Higher-risk pipeline owner/operators to designate a physical security coordinator and report significant physical security concerns to TSA.

By publishing a “notice of proposed rulemaking” in the Federal Register, Federal Register, which is the daily journal of the U.S. government, TSA has initiated a 60-day period for public comment from any interested party and an additional 30 days for reply comments.

"TSA has collaborated closely with its industry partners to increase the cybersecurity resilience of the nation's critical transportation infrastructure," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a release. "The requirements in the proposed rule seek to build on this collaborative effort and further strengthen the cybersecurity posture of surface transportation stakeholders. We look forward to industry and public input on this proposed regulation."

The notice came a week after a White House representative warned the trucking freight industry that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has remained the most active and persistent cyber threat to the U.S. government, private sector, and critical infrastructure networks. The briefing came from a member of the administration’s Office of the National Cyber Director, in an address to attendees at the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA)’s Cybersecurity Conference.

“In January, the National Cyber Director testified in front of Congress along with colleagues from CISA, NSA, and the FBI about this threat from the PRC, dubbed Volt Typhoon,” speaker Stephen Viña said in his remarks. “Volt Typhoon conducted cyber operations focused not on financial gain, espionage, or state secrets but on developing deep access to our critical infrastructure. This includes the energy sector transportation systems, among many others. A prolonged interruption to these critical services could disrupt our ability to mobilize in the event of a national emergency or conflict and can create panic among our citizens. Ultimately, if trucking stops, America stops.”

More Stories

screen shot of AI chat box

Accenture and Microsoft launch business AI unit

In a move to meet rising demand for AI transformation, Accenture and Microsoft are launching a copilot business transformation practice to help organizations reinvent their business functions with both generative and agentic AI and with Copilot technologies.


The practice consists of 5,000 professionals from Accenture and from Avanade—the consulting firm’s joint venture with Microsoft. They will be supported by Microsoft product specialists who will work closely with the Accenture Center for Advanced AI. Together, that group will collaborate on AI and Copilot agent templates, extensions, plugins, and connectors to help organizations leverage their data and gen AI to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and drive growth, they said on Thursday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mobile robots, drones move beyond the hype

Mobile robots, drones move beyond the hype

Supply chains are poised for accelerated adoption of mobile robots and drones as those technologies mature and companies focus on implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across their logistics operations.

That’s according to data from Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Mobile Robots and Drones, released this week. The report shows that several mobile robotics technologies will mature over the next two to five years, and also identifies breakthrough and rising technologies set to have an impact further out.

Keep ReadingShow less
digital chain links

How to evaluate blockchain for your supply chain

In 2015, blockchain (the technology that makes digital currencies such as bitcoin work) was starting to be explored as a solution for supply chains. It promised cost savings, increased efficiency, and heightened transparency, among other benefits. For that reason, many companies were happy to run pilots testing blockchain for themselves. Today, these small-scale projects have been replaced by large-scale enterprise adoption of blockchain-based supply chain solutions. There are plenty of choices now for blockchain supply chain products, platforms, and providers. This makes the option to use blockchain available now to nearly everyone in the sector. This wealth of choice does, however, make it more difficult to decide which blockchain integration is best (or, indeed, if your organization needs to use it at all). To find the right blockchain, companies need to consider three factors: cost, sustainability, and the ultimate goal of trying new technology.

Choosing the right blockchain for an enterprise supply chain begins with the most basic consideration: cost. Blockchains work by securely recording “transactions,” and in a supply chain, those transactions are essentially database updates. However, making such updates has varying costs on different chains. If a container moves locations, that entry is updated, and a transaction is recorded. Enterprises need to figure out how many products, containers, or pieces of information they will process daily. Each of these can be considered a transaction. Now, some blockchains cost not even $1 to record a million movements. Other chains can cost thousands of dollars for the same amount of recording. Understanding the amount of activity you will need to record against the cost of transactions is the first place for an enterprise to start when considering blockchain. Ask the provider which blockchain their product is built on, and its average transaction cost. This will help you find the most cost-effective product or integration.

Keep ReadingShow less
office workers at computer talking about AI

Mid-market businesses stumble in rush to AI

Mid-marketorganizations are confident that adopting AI applications can deliver up to fourfold returns within 12 months, but first they have to get over obstacles like gaps in workforce readiness, data governance, and tech infrastructure, according to a study from Seattle consulting firm Avanade.

The report found that 85% of businesses are expressing concern over losing competitive ground without rapid AI adoption, and 53% of them expect to increase their budgets for gen AI projects by up to 25%. But despite that enthusiasm, nearly half are stuck at business case (48%) or proof of concept (44%) stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
digitalization transportation 3PL AI automation

C.H. Robinson automates 10,000 email tasks per day with Gen AI

Third party logistics provider (3PL) C.H. Robinson has applied generative AI tools to automate various steps across the entire lifecycle of a freight shipment, the Minnesota company said last week.

C.H. Robinson said it created AI-based technology that reads incoming email then replicates tasks a person would do, including giving customers a price quote, accepting a load, setting appointments for pickup and delivery, and checking on the load in transit. The company has used the approach to automate more than 10,000 of those routine transactions per day, allowing shippers who use email to get the same speed-to-market and cost savings as customers who use C.H. Robinson’s online platform.

Keep ReadingShow less