Biden Administration Targets Insecure Software with New Cybersecurity Plan
US President Joe Biden's new cybersecurity plan aims to increase the security of digital infrastructure and prevent cyberattacks.
The strategy calls for a rebalancing of responsibility to defend cyberspace, shifting the burden away from individuals, small businesses, and local governments. Additionally, the plan seeks to hold software companies liable for shipping products without taking reasonable security precautions.
The goal is to protect critical systems and data, ensuring that a single person's momentary lapse in judgment does not have national security consequences. The strategy outlines goals, such as expanding cybersecurity requirements for companies that run critical digital infrastructure and working with Congress to stop software companies from evading liability.
Cloud computing services, which power a significant portion of web infrastructure, would have to meet minimum security standards or face legal liability. The strategy document also calls out ransomware as a particular threat and seeks to shut down actors running ransomware operations and illicit cryptocurrency exchanges that make ransomware profitable.
The previous cybersecurity strategy was created under former President Donald Trump in 2018, and the Biden administration seeks to update and improve upon it. The strategy highlights China as the most persistent threat to both government and private sector networks. Protecting data and assuring the reliability of critical systems is the responsibility of owners and operators of these systems and technology providers who build and service them.
Compliance with the strategy's requirements can be encouraged through tax breaks or other incentives for companies.
Overall, the plan seeks to create a more secure digital ecosystem that is not reliant on individuals' and small businesses' cybersecurity measures. With cybersecurity being a critical issue facing our society today, this plan is a positive step in the right direction.
