- April 12, 2023
- Brian Fischer
- 1198 Views
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- Blog, Compliance, Cyber Security, Data Breach
Developing a National Cybersecurity Strategy: The Latest Updates
On March 2, 2023, the Biden-Harris administration officially announced its national cybersecurity strategy.
We’ve reviewed the statements, and distilled them for you to get an idea of what the future of cybersecurity in the United States will look like in the near, and not so near future. The statement issued by the White House states that the goal of this strategy is to:
“…reimagine cyberspace as a tool to achieve our goals in a way that reflects our values: economic security and prosperity; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; trust in our democracy and democratic institutions; and an equitable and diverse society.”
We’re looking forward to some clear guidance from the Federal government on how our dedication to helping organizations secure their cybersecurity can achieve these ends.
Rebalancing Responsibility
The strategy calls for a shift from cybersecurity responsibility to large, well-positioned organizations. Until this national cybersecurity strategy, individuals and small businesses have been going it pretty much alone when it comes to safeguarding their networks and digital assets. Cybersecurity is an extremely complex landscape and small business owners or entrepreneurs certainly need help ensuring that their organizations are secured.
More responsibility needs to lie with cybersecurity experts who have the capacity, expertise, bandwidth and scalability to help those small businesses protect themselves and their customers or clients. We are up for the challenge! SCA is ready to help businesses of all sizes achieve their cybersecurity strategies and goals. We can help organizations adopt prudent cybersecurity standards based on proven strategies like the NIST cybersecurity framework.
Related content: New Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity?
Realigning Incentives
The new strategy is also focused on the long term. The administration wants to see investment in building lasting relationships for cybersecurity service providers and vulnerable industries. There must be a balance between protecting those industries from existing threats that we know about while at the same time investing in new technologies that will keep the United States ahead of the curve when it comes to cyberattacks. Investing in prevention and progressive research is going to be critical for the strategy’s success.
Vision
The strategy lays out a vision for the future, and it includes three main points.
The United States should be:
- Defensible, where cyber defense is overwhelmingly easier, cheaper, and more effective;
- Resilient, where cyber incidents and errors have little widespread or lasting impact; and,
- Values-aligned, where our most cherished values shape—and are in turn reinforced by— our digital world.
At SCA, we know we can achieve these goals, and we’re looking forward to more support at the national level to recognize these threats and thwart them in the future. The Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity lays out the details of exactly how the administration plans to achieve their goals, and we’re working hard to ensure we have all of the necessary mechanisms in place to contribute to making this strategy successful.
Focusing On Solutions
The strategy calls for a better focus and understanding of zero-trust architecture for government and critical infrastructure networks. While we all know it is best practice, zero-trust is still not standard practice in many government agencies. Making zero-trust a priority is imperative to the success of our national cybersecurity strategy.
The same goes for improving supply chain security. There is still a high level of trust with major service providers across the country, yet private companies are not held to the rigorous standards that are required to ensure safety at the national level. This new strategy will hold federal contractors to rigorous security standards to ensure the entire country is safe from critical infrastructure breaches.
What this strategy does is provide all those involved with cybersecurity with a playbook and some guidelines as to how we should be focusing our efforts moving forward. SCA has been following the developments of this strategy since 2021, and we continue to stay on top of the news as it comes out.
Stay Aligned With The National Cybersecurity Strategy
Security Compliance Associates is poised to help both government and commercial entities prepare to meet the forthcoming guidelines of the new national cybersecurity policy. We’ll assess your current cybersecurity controls and determine areas of improvement. Contact us today at 727-571-1141 to protect your organization from cyber threats and get an early start on compliance.