The Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity recently released an assessment of the current state of U.S. cybersecurity and provided a series of recommendations that the government and private sector could take to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
“The commission identified and considered broader trends affecting each of these topics [of cybersecurity], notably the convergence of information technologies and physical systems, risk management, privacy and trust, global versus national realms of influence and controls, the effectiveness of free markets versus regulatory regimes and solutions, legal and liability considerations, the importance and difficulty of developing meaningful metrics for cybersecurity, automated technology–based cybersecurity approaches, and consumer responsibilities,” the commission said in its release.
The report’s listed imperatives were to protect the nation’s information infrastructure and digital networks, accelerate investment in the security of digital networks and the digital economy, prepare consumers to thrive in the digital age, and to enhance cybersecurity workforce capabilities.
To address the need of enhanced government cybersecurity, the Obama Administration recently created a first-ever Chief Information Security Officer to drive improvements to federal agencies’ use of strong authentication and critical vulnerability patching. Additionally, the administration pushed to reduce the federal government’s reliance on legacy technologies by proposing a $3.1 billion fund to modernize costly and vulnerable information technology systems.
“Continuing to prioritize and coordinate cybersecurity efforts across the federal government will ensure that this critical challenge remains a top national security priority,” the administration said in a statement in response to the commission’s assessment. “And furthering the promotion of international norms of responsible state behavior will ensure that the global community is able to confront the ever-evolving threats we face.”