U.S. to tell critical rail, air companies to report hacks, name cyber chiefs

FILE PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki listens as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks about an investigation into the treatment of Haitian migrants on the U.S.-Mexican border, during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

(Reuters) -The Transportation Security Administration will introduce new regulations that compel the most important U.S. railroad and airport operators to improve their cybersecurity procedures, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Wednesday.

The upcoming changes will make it mandatory for "higher-risk" rail transit companies and "critical" U.S. airport and aircraft operators to do three things: name a chief cyber official, disclose hacks to the government and draft recovery plans for if an attack were to occur.