National Cybersecurity Strategy: Building a More Secure Future

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In March, the Biden Administration released the latest guidance aimed at improving the cybersecurity practices of Federal agencies. The National Cybersecurity Strategy builds on the Executive Order for Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity that makes cybersecurity a strategic focus of every agency. This latest guidance drills further into the actions needed to ensure that government systems and citizen data are protected against the ever-evolving threat landscape.

The goal of the strategy is to "rebalance the responsibility to defend cyberspace" and "realign incentives to favor long-term investments." To do this, the responsibility for cybersecurity must be shifted to the organizations that are most capable and best-positioned to reduce risks. It points out that, "a single person's momentary lapse in judgment, use of an outdated password, or errant click on a suspicious link should not have national security consequences." While security is the responsibility of everyone, small businesses, small localities, and individuals simply do not have the resources to support the security needed to protect systems and data. Instead, the guidance proposes new incentives to favor long-term investments in security, resilience, and new technologies.

In practice, this shift in responsibility will likely mean new laws and regulations. As an early example, the administration suggests reframing ransomware as a national security threat. Doing so means it will be easier to summon a coordinated response from law enforcement to respond to attacks and threats. It will also enable more proactive disruption of these threats with increased federal oversight and resources.

The strategy is to focus on five key pillars for tactical improvement of the U.S. cyber posture:

  1. Defend Critical Infrastructure
  2. Disrupt and Dismantle Threat Actors
  3. Shape Market Forces to Drive Security and Resilience
  4. Invest in a Resilient Future
  5. Forge International Partnerships to Pursue Shared Goals

Responsibility and accountability are addressed across these pillars as is the need for improved information sharing around threats and cyber best practices.

GovEvents and GovWhitePapers provide access to many cybersecurity events and resources to help organizations advance national cybersecurity strategies.

Find more details on how to build a more secure future utilizing the guidelines of the National Cybersecurity Strategy. Check out additional resources on GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.

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