AFFIRM Up Lift: Strengthening Cybersecurity: A Top Priority for the Federal Government

In today's digital age, cybersecurity has become a crucial component of our nation's security. The recent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, federal agencies, and private sector entities have shown us the severe and far-reaching consequences of cyber vulnerabilities. As a result, the Biden-Harris administration has made strengthening cybersecurity a top priority. On May 12, 2021, the Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity was issued. The order aims to modernize federal cybersecurity practices, policies, and systems, and foster greater collaboration with state and local governments and the private sector. By removing barriers to threat information sharing between the government and the private sector, agencies can prevent cyber incidents that could affect the federal government or the nation's critical infrastructure. One of the Executive Order's key provisions is establishing a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board. The federal government must also improve its detection and response capabilities, requiring the deployment of endpoint detection and response tools, logging systems, and incident response plans. Additionally, the government must expand its use of cloud services, zero-trust architectures, and secure identity and access management solutions to secure federal data and systems. Investing in the federal government's cybersecurity workforce is also crucial. By modernizing federal cybersecurity practices, policies, and systems and fostering greater collaboration, agencies can better protect our nation's critical infrastructure and ensure the security of federal data and systems.

Learning Objectives

•  Strategies utilized to bolster the federal government's cybersecurity posture and readiness
• Tactics to reduce insider threats and increase cybersecurity through continuous threat exposure management programs
•  Implementation of proactive zero-trust architectures