After the U.S. State Department recently fell victim to a cyberattack and received a “D” rating from the Senate Homeland Security Committee, President Biden called for help from cybersecurity industry leaders everywhere to tackle the critical issue of governmental security.
Biden held a meeting with chief executives including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook, Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon.com Inc.’s Andy Jassy, Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon. Biden’s opening remark was: “Our skilled cybersecurity workforce is not growing fast enough to keep pace”, as he called on big tech for support.
According to Brad Ree, CTO of the ioXt Alliance these U.S. federal agencies need to improve in order to address cybersecurity to help prevent and mitigate the increasing number of cyberattacks.
Ree tells Digital Journal that governments should not only focus on major systems, every electronic device and piece of digital data is vulnerable. He notes: “Whether you produce connected cameras, cell phones, or you run network security for a major federal department, addressing critical vulnerabilities has to be the top priority.”
Looking at the most recent attacks, Ree recounts: “We saw the State Department and even NASA receive a ‘D’ rating, making it imperative that federal agencies better address security.”
Linking the two points together, Ree states: “If rocket scientists are failing at cybersecurity, how can local mom-and-pop stores be expected to secure their equipment? The simple solution is that the onus must fall on the manufacturers when it comes to security. They must build security into their systems and devices from the onset so the problems aren’t pushed onto the end consumer.”
Moving his focus to the government, Ree notes: “Additionally, Biden’s call for cyber help is a much-needed step in moving security to the top of everyone’s business agenda. Looking ahead, there are many ways the private and public sectors can work together: The public sector can help provide regulations to set baseline security requirements and enforcement, while the private sector can provide the products and services to enable users (public and private) to secure critical infrastructure, workplace networks, homes, vehicles, and mobile devices and networks.
The drive towards zero-trust networks, securing the supply chain, and building the workforce will not only solve many of the current cybersecurity problems, but will lay the groundwork to create fully interconnected systems which will be able to deliver services with high levels of automation, optimization, and personalization. And I applaud tech leaders in organizations like Google and Microsoft for making large commitments to drive this initiative.”
