The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) has appointed Antwan Banks as its director of enterprise security as the organization shifts focus to end-to-end security for the trucking industry.
The NMFTA told SecurityWeek that this is a newly created position. Banks will lead the organization’s cybersecurity practice, and work with its partners and members to ensure the safety and security of the supply chain in the United States.
“As you can imagine, this is increasingly important as we digitize the [less-than-truckload (LTL)] fleets with a collaborative approach to open-source API’s to replace all of the current manual and paper processes,” an NMFTA representative explained. “Under the guidance of our CTO, John Talieri, the Digital LTL team, our Cybersecurity team, and our product development team are focused on the digital transformation of our industry.”
Banks, an Operation Desert Storm veteran, has been tasked with leading security programs, outreach efforts, and cyber projects, including standards, education initiatives and the NMFTA’s cybersecurity conference.
Prior to joining the NMFTA, Banks served as director of cybersecurity for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority for a period of nine years.
His experience also includes working as a senior security engineer for Turner Broadcasting System, and as a security consultant for the US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control.
Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, the NMFTA is a nonprofit membership organization for motor carriers operating in interstate, intrastate and foreign commerce. The NMFTA has developed standards and assigns codes that identify transportation companies and locations.
The NMFTA has been analyzing the cybersecurity of heavy vehicles for several years. Last year, it disclosed two vulnerabilities affecting trailer brake controllers whose exploitation could have serious safety implications.
The US government has been looking to boost the cybersecurity of the transportation industry over the past years. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been issuing directives, especially ones aimed at the aviation and rail sectors.
Related: Updated TSA Pipeline Cybersecurity Requirements Offer More Flexibility
Related: TSA Requires Rail and Airports to Strengthen Cybersecurity
Related: Senators Ask DHS, DOT About Transportation Infrastructure Cybersecurity
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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