The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Cyber Policy Task Force released this week its final report titled From Awareness to Action – A Cybersecurity Agenda for the 45th President, which offered a series of recommendations on policy and resources for the President-elect.
The report was produced with guidance from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), along with a group of the nation’s leading cybersecurity specialists.
“It is essential that the incoming administration understand the scope and severity of the cyber threat and be ready to move nimbly to address this rapidly evolving challenge,” Whitehouse said. “This report provides a wealth of recommendations that will help government and the private sector work together to make our country safer.”
Some of the recommendations made by the report include accelerating efforts to secure critical infrastructure by improving “cyber hygiene” and authentication protocols, incentivizing companies to make cybersecurity and data protection a priority for Boards and C-Suites, and identifying what resources would be best left to the private sector.
Additional recommendations include streamlining White House bureaucracy and creating a specialized Government Accountability Office (GAO) dedicated to federal cybersecurity, revising international strategy to emphasize partnerships with like-minded nations against common foes and improve the ability to deter would-be attackers, and significantly increasing senior-level attention to cybercrime.
“Better cybersecurity is crucial for our national and economic security,” McCaul said. “Our recommendations can help shape the cybersecurity agenda for the next four years.”