“Fortifying the Digital Frontline: Biden’s Bold Move to Enhance Cybersecurity in America”

In the concluding week of President Biden’s tenure, he authorized a significant executive order on cybersecurity, integrating insights acquired over the past four years.

From his initial moments in the White House, Biden faced disruptive cyber threats, from Russian surveillance of U.S. governmental bodies via third-party software to ransomware attacks targeting hospitals and Chinese hackers infiltrating critical infrastructure.

As time progressed, the Biden administration discovered innovative methods to tackle the spies and cyber offenders. They recouped illicitly obtained assets by honing in on cryptocurrency wallets. They issued extensive indictments aimed at individual hackers from around the world. They dismantled botnets and erased harmful code from infected devices, among other actions.

Nevertheless, hackers persist in pilfering substantial quantities of data and money, and the menace is far from subsided.

The power of the purse

With this context, the new executive order issued on Thursday builds upon an earlier one enacted in Biden’s inaugural year. It aims at fortifying federal agencies and contractors, while empowering the federal government to impose sanctions on hackers targeting critical infrastructure.

“The objective is to increase the costs and difficulties for countries like China, Russia, Iran, and ransomware criminals to perpetrate hacks, and to also convey that America is serious about safeguarding its enterprises and citizens,” stated Anne Neuberger, Biden’s departing Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology, during a discussion with journalists.

On the defensive front, the U.S. government is leveraging financial influence. Software providers selling to the government will be required to demonstrate adherence to secure development practices to obtain and retain profitable federal contracts. Standards for compliance verification will be established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. The executive order will also mandate cybersecurity standards for acquiring new space systems.

Additionally, there will be an emphasis on combating identity theft. The U.S. government is urging the industry to create secure, privacy-protecting digital identity solutions. There is a focus on vendors ensuring the secure storage of private cryptographic keys for identity management.

Internally, the U.S. government will mandate agencies to adopt quantum-resistant algorithms to guard against theft and decryption by adversarial forces. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, under the Department of Homeland Security, will be granted additional responsibilities to seek out known vulnerabilities within federal systems. They’ll be granted enhanced “centralized visibility,” remarked Neuberger.

The Biden administration is also establishing a collaboration with the private sector to develop tools utilizing artificial intelligence to bolster security in the energy sector, particularly by scanning for vulnerabilities and automatically recommending potential remedies.

“This is a sector that is particularly targeted by nations and criminals,” remarked Neuberger.

Ultimately, the executive order will facilitate the federal government in imposing sanctions on ransomware factions targeting essential infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.

Neuberger informed reporters that the Biden administration had not gone into detail regarding the cybersecurity executive order with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team beforehand, as he has yet to appoint his senior cybersecurity officials. She mentioned that they are willing to engage in those discussions once Trump’s team is established.

Incoming Trump officials possess the authority to revoke or supplant Biden’s executive actions as they see fit. However, the expectation, according to Neuberger, is that the goals of the executive order are largely bipartisan.

Industry and policy specialists are commending the executive order and encouraging President-elect Trump to sustain and expand upon the cybersecurity initiatives of the Biden administration.

“Cybersecurity and the defense of our nation’s critical infrastructure from threats has consistently been a nonpartisan concern,” remarked Ilona Cohen, the chief legal and policy officer for cybersecurity firm HackerOne.

“We are especially optimistic about the order’s acknowledgment of artificial intelligence’s potential to enhance cybersecurity and its emphasis on managing vulnerabilities relating to AI systems and software,” Cohen stated. “We encourage the Trump administration to promote the provisions of the order, particularly those directed at staying ahead of China in security through the use of AI.”