President Biden has said his administration is committed to hardening our critical infrastructure against cyber attacks, disrupting ransomware networks, and “working to establish and promote clear rules of the road for all nations in cyberspace”, as Cybersecurity Awareness Month kicks off.
In a White House statement, President Biden said "cyber threats can affect every American, every business - regardless of size - and every community. That's why my administration is marshaling a whole-of-nation effort to confront cyber threats."
Last Thursday, the president signed a proclamation declaring October Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The proclamation said as the nation got to grips with ransomware attacks disrupting hospitals, schools, police departments, fuel pipelines, food suppliers, and small businesses, the public needed to “take action to better protect yourselves against cyber threats.”
Biden said that in May he issued an executive order to modernize defenses and position the Federal government to “lead, rather than lag, in its own cybersecurity.” This meant using its substantial buying power to improve security software for all Americans.
He also cited a 100-day action plan to improve the electricity sector’s cyber security. This, he added, has already resulted in more than 150 utilities serving 90 million Americans committing to deploy cyber security technologies. Biden said his administration was working to deploy action plans for additional critical infrastructure sectors.
He also pointed out that a National Security Memorandum was issued outlining the cyber security practices that owners and operators of critical infrastructure should put in place.
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Biden also lauded efforts to bring 30 countries around the world to speed up cooperation in combating cyber crime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically.
“We are building a coalition of nations to advocate for and invest in trusted 5G technology and to better secure our supply chains. And, we are bringing the full strength of our capabilities to disrupt malicious cyber activity, including managing both the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence,” said Biden.
"This October, even as we recognize how much work remains to be done and that maintaining strong cybersecurity practices is ongoing work, I am confident that the advancements we have put in place during the first months of my administration will enable us to build back better,” he added.
