One Year Later: Reflecting on the DHS Western Hemisphere Cyber Conference

September 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of the first ever Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Western Hemisphere Cyber Conference, a landmark event that brought together cybersecurity leaders in government and the private sector to discuss cybersecurity challenges and identify areas of collaboration. The conference, held in Washington D.C., was created to serve as a catalyst for change in how DHS and its interagency and international partners approach cybersecurity in the Western Hemisphere. As DHS reflects on the progress made since the conference, the Department’s commitment to regional collaboration in cybersecurity remains stronger than ever.

For two days, delegates from more than 20 countries, spanning from Canada to Chile, engaged in meaningful discussions, workshops, and collaborative sessions to address the ongoing complex, transnational nature of cyber threats we face today. Participants shared insights, challenges, and best practices that reflected the mutual understanding that in the digital age, where cybercrime does not recognize borders, our cybersecurity is deeply interconnected; a threat to one nations digital infrastructure can quickly become a threat to all. This mutual understanding led to some of the conference's most important insights, including Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas’s warning that all countries face “a choice between speed and sovereignty, a choice between vulnerability and security, a choice between up-front affordability, and the cost of rebuilding after a devastating cyber-attack made possible by high-risk hardware and software.”

The conference also highlighted the critical role of public-private partnerships in cybersecurity. Industry leaders brought valuable insights into emerging technologies and threat landscapes, while government officials provided perspectives on policy and regulation. This intersection of viewpoints led to rich discussions about how to foster innovation while ensuring security, a balance that is crucial for our digital future.

This conference served as a launching pad for ongoing collaboration. In the year since the conference, we have seen an unprecedented level of collaboration in cyber between DHS and our partners. From rapid information sharing about emerging threats to joint cybersecurity exercises, the spirit of cooperation kindled at the conference has grown into a robust network of mutual support and shared responsibility.

With that in mind, I want to highlight some tangible results that occurred as a result of the partnerships DHS strengthened at last year’s conference.

Agency Highlights

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

1. In support of the Pan American Games, CISA provided vulnerability scanning to Chile as part of the U.S. Government International Security Events Group.
2. CISA hosted Peruvian officials for a resources brief and a tour of CISA Central as part of preparations for the 2024 APEC Summit.
3. CISA is exploring how to incorporate Secure by Design principles into information and communications technology infrastructure with Uruguayan partners from the Agency for Electronic Government and the Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC) and the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining (MEIM).
4. Senior CISA leadership participated in regional events throughout the Western Hemisphere, including Cybertech Latin America in Panama City, the 2024 LATAM CISO Summit in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and bilateral engagements hosted in the United States.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

1. In June 2024, TSA hosted the International Training Symposium in Las Vegas and discussed cyber training resources, standards, and best practices, emphasizing collaboration across countries, cultures, and capabilities with partners from Canada, Mexico, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, and Brazil.
2. On August 21, 2024, TSA delivered a cybersecurity briefing on Transportation Screening Equipment (TSE) to aviation security partners in Colombia. The briefing provided insights into how TSA addresses the cybersecurity of screening equipment deployed in the field, sharing key concepts to highlight the complexity of the technology, best practices for evaluation, and valuable lessons learned.
3. In June 2024 at the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission Western Hemisphere Aviation Security and Facilitation Regional Group in Lima, Peru, TSA provided its approach and perspective on cybersecurity related to International Civil Aviation Organization working papers and information papers.
4. In March 2024, TSA presented its approach to cybersecurity to principals from the Government of Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands during the 3rd annual Northern Caribbean Security Summit in Nassau, Bahamas. This summit addressed cybersecurity in relation to critical infrastructure and transportation providers and emphasized the importance of collaboration between government and industry.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) & U.S. Secret Service (USSS)

1. Since October 2023, HSI has trained Dark Web/Net and Cryptocurrency investigations to members of HSI’s Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIU) in Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras. Furthermore, HSI engaged with Peru in a subject matter expert exchange with 240 Investigators from the Peruvian National Police, 16 Prosecutors with the Peruvian Public Ministry, and 8 Analysts in the Peruvian Financial Investigations Unit.
2. Over the last year, HSI has also provided trainings on digital first response, mobile forensics, child sex trafficking investigations, and dark web techniques to more than 300 judges, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and non-government organizations across Central and South America. Trainees attended from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil.
3. Since the conference, HSI San Salvador has conducted a monthly training on child exploitation investigations with Government of El Salvador officials. The collaboration and training continued with an iGuardian training in Puerto Rico, and facilities and capabilities awareness sharing tour in Washington, D.C.
4. Since October 2023, HSI trained 39 Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit (TCIU) members from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama in crypto activities, crypto currency kiosks, techniques and tactics for countering child sexual exploitation and abuse, the Budapest Convention, requesting information from Tik Tok, unmasking the dark web, advanced techniques for the dark web, and preserving digital evidence.
5. In Brazil, HSI helped train 54 Brazilian law enforcement officers from 21 Brazilian States at an event featuring child exploitation investigation techniques.  The training ranged from basic child exploitation investigations to cutting edge victim identification and rescue methods.  At an additional event in August 2024 in Rio De Janeiro, HSI helped train 30 students from the Civil Police across 21 Brazilian States to learn Peer 2 Peer Basic Investigations techniques.
6. Over the last year, USSS also conducted 13 training courses on cyber exploitation, and investigating the criminal use of cryptocurrency, through ILEA for 398 law enforcement partners from Argentina, El Salvador, the Bahamas, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

1. USCG, in coordination with DOD USNORTHCOM, is working on an extended year plan for maritime cyber cooperation and training with the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR).
2. USCG conducted assessments in Peru and Barbados in partnership with DOD.
3. USCG accepted Chair of the International Partnership for Maritime Cybersecurity (IPMCS) and will be hosting the 2025 Symposium, extending invites to maritime partners in the Western Hemisphere region.

Looking Ahead: A Commitment to Partnership

As we move forward, DHS remains steadfast in its commitment to work with its partners – including the Organization of American States – throughout the Western Hemisphere on cyber and emerging technology issues.

This future collaboration will build on the work referenced above but also expand to include training initiatives focused upon DHS’s lessons learned from establishing a national cybersecurity agency, how to develop frameworks for rapid response to cyber incidents, ways to enhance public-private partnerships to best leverage industry expertise, and more.

The challenges we face in cyberspace know no borders. As we reflect on a year since the inaugural conference, DHS continues to call on regional partners – governments, private sector entities, and civil society organizations – to continue partnering toward our shared goal of creating a safer, more resilient digital world for all.

Together, we can build on the momentum of the past year and continue to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of the entire Western Hemisphere. Lets embrace this opportunity.