Last month, the Biden administration announced its new National Cybersecurity Strategy in response to the ever-evolving circumstances and concerns of today’s digital age.
Let’s take a look at…
1. The development of our nation’s approach to cybersecurity.
2. The core elements of Biden’s new strategy.
3. What it means for your business.
The Evolution of Our Nation’s Cybersecurity Strategy
The very idea of a national cybersecurity strategy was introduced during the Obama administration and updated during President Trump’s time in the White House.
President Obama introduced the first iteration in 2015. It aimed to improve the nation’s cybersecurity posture through five core elements:
1. Protecting critical infrastructure: The strategy aimed to enhance the security of critical infrastructure, such as energy, financial services, and transportation, by promoting the adoption of best practices and standards.
2. Combating cybercrime: The strategy aimed to strengthen law enforcement efforts to combat cybercrime, including international cooperation and information sharing.
3. Building cybersecurity workforce: The strategy aimed to develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce by investing in education and training programs.
4. Promoting cybersecurity innovation: The strategy aimed to promote innovation in cybersecurity technologies by fostering public-private partnerships and supporting research and development.
5. Enhancing incident response: The strategy aimed to improve the nation's ability to respond to cyber incidents by establishing clear lines of communication and coordination among government agencies and the private sector.
In 2018, the Trump administration transformed the existing strategy with its own series of updates and goals. This modified plan revolved around four core elements:
1. Protecting critical infrastructure: The updated strategy continued to focus on protecting critical infrastructure by encouraging public-private partnerships and improving risk management practices.
2. Enhancing cybersecurity capabilities: The updated strategy aimed to enhance the nation's cybersecurity capabilities by investing in new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and improving incident response capabilities.
3. Promoting accountability: The updated strategy aimed to hold malicious actors accountable for their actions by imposing consequences and deterrence measures.
4. Building a more resilient cyber ecosystem: The updated strategy aimed to build a more resilient cyber ecosystem by promoting cybersecurity awareness, education, and workforce development.
Since President Biden took office, cybersecurity has been a topic of debate and action. Before revealing his own National Cybersecurity Strategy, President Biden issued an executive order on improving cybersecurity for federal networks and critical infrastructure in May 2021.
The executive order includes several measures aimed at improving the nation's cybersecurity, such as requiring federal agencies to adopt multi-factor authentication and encryption, improving threat detection and response capabilities, and establishing a cybersecurity safety review board.
The New National Cybersecurity Strategy
At its core, the Biden administration’s new National Cybersecurity Strategy seeks to “secure the full benefits of a safe and secure digital ecosystem for all Americans.”
To do so, the new plan notes two key shifts:
• “We must rebalance the responsibility to defend cyberspace by shifting the burden for cybersecurity away from individuals, small businesses, and local governments, and onto the organizations that are most capable and best-positioned to reduce risks for all of us.”
• “We must realign incentives to favor long-term investments by striking a careful balance between defending ourselves against urgent threats today and simultaneously strategically planning for and investing in a resilient future.”
Like his predecessors, President Biden built his own cybersecurity strategy upon several core pillars. Like President Obama, it’s made up of five key elements:
1. Defend Critical Infrastructure
We will give the American people confidence in the availability and resilience of our critical infrastructure and the essential services it provides.
2. Disrupt & Dismantle Threat Actors
Using all instruments of national power, we will make malicious cyber actors incapable of threatening the national security or public safety of the United States.
3. Shape Market Forces to Drive Security & Resilience
We will place responsibility on those within our digital ecosystem that are best positioned to reduce risk and shift the consequences of poor cybersecurity away from the most vulnerable in order to make our digital ecosystem more trustworthy.
4. Invest in a Resilient Future
Through strategic investments and coordinated, collaborative action, the United States will continue to lead the world in the innovation of secure and resilient next-generation technologies and infrastructure.
5. Forge International Partnerships & Pursue Shared Goals
The United States seeks a world where responsible state behavior in cyberspace is expected and reinforced and where irresponsible behavior is isolating and costly.
What the New National Cybersecurity Strategy Means For Your Business
First and foremost, the Biden administration is sending a clear and obvious message that cybersecurity is paramount in a world that runs on a digital ecosystem. Securing that ecosystem will require change, attention, and sacrifice.
For business owners, that sacrifice is likely to come in a number of ways.
• New requirements may increase the cost of products and services related to data security.
• Minimum cybersecurity requirements will be expanded within critical sectors, which is likely to have a trickle-down effect that raises the requirements within every sector.
• Businesses will likely be forced to comply with new regulations designed to protect the privacy and security of user data, including storage processes and data handling.
In short, the cybersecurity landscape is changing. Yes, that’s nothing new. But with the presentation of a new National Cybersecurity Strategy, those changes are poised to be more significant than incremental.
Luckily, you don’t have to adapt to these changes on your own.
CyberMyte is here to do it all for you.
Get in touch today.
