Experts Offer Roadmap to Secure US Ports From CCP Attack

‘We have been a victim for too long, and we’ve got to get out of that mindset,’ McCrary Institute Director Frank Cilluffo said.

Frank Cilluffo (L), director of Auburn University's McCrary Institute, and Brad Medairy (R), executive vice president for national security at Booz Allen Hamilton, discuss port security at an event in Washington on July 31, 2025. Don Kauffman/The McCrary Institute

U.S. ports are strategic infrastructure upon which the nation’s economic stability and military readiness depend, yet they remain highly exposed to an attack that could grind billions of dollars in trade activity or defense operations to a halt. In fact, adversaries have already infiltrated U.S. port infrastructure, and the path forward must be one that adopts “zero trust” principles, according to experts.

“Zero trust is a fundamental shift in the way that we view and defend our enterprise and [operational technology] environments,” David Forbes, director of cyber physical defense at management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton, said at an event on July 31 discussing a report released July 29 by Booz Allen Hamilton and Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security.