Cybersecurity in the New Administration

2016 has been a year, to say the least. With the loss of legends like David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman and Mohammad Alli, and of course a tumultuous presidential election leaving much of the nation divided, we’re just about ready to put this year to bed. However, we still have the better half of December to go and President Obama is working hard to make 2017 as promising as possible, starting with the cybersecurity community.

After a nine-month study of America’s cybersecurity issues conducted by the White House’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, a hundred-page report was assembled documenting their recommendations on how to proceed in 2017. Issues covered, ranged from the cybersecurity of federal agencies to cultivating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. However, given the brevity of time left in office, President Obama can only gift these carefully curated advisements to the next Administration in the hope that they then take the necessary actions. President-elect Trump has remained vague on the topic of cybersecurity, and those in Washington are unsure of his plans moving forward. In a statement released Friday from the Office of the Press Secretary, President Obama writes, “Now it is time for the next Administration to take up this charge and ensure that cyberspace can continue to be the driver for prosperity, innovation, and change – both in the United States and around the world.” While a response from the next administration has yet to be made, we thought we’d take a look at what’s being proposed.

In an attempt to further improve and strengthen the collaboration between private and public sectors, the Commission proposed six imperatives, which together contain a total of 16 recommendations and 53 associated action items.

“The imperatives are:

1.Protect, defend, and secure today’s information infrastructure and digital networks.

2.Innovate and accelerate investment for the security and growth of digital networks and the digital economy.

3.Prepare consumers to thrive in a digital age.

4.Build cybersecurity workforce capabilities.

5.Better equip government to function effectively and securely in the digital age.

6.Ensure an open, fair, competitive, and secure global digital economy.”

There are both new and currently underway remediation’s offered in the report. Recommendations include:

  • Assigning the Department of Justice to perform a six-month study of legal liability for security flaws in internet-of-things devices- giving the federal government new found responsibility when it comes to cybersecurity
  • Beginning a new national cybersecurity apprenticeship program in order to develop the skills of students in applied information security- building a new task force ready to take on the future challenges when navigating cybersecurity, as well as stay competitive with other nations in this growing field
  • Begin mandatory training of senior officials at all federal agencies be trained in cybersecurity basics – increasing the awareness and liability of cybersecurity for individuals

As a company specializing in information security and IT audit recruitment and solutions, we at Tiro Security found these recommendations were both timely and pertinent. Moving forward, we hope to see an increased awareness of cybersecurity issues in both the private and public sectors, as well as the further development of cybersecurity professionals. No matter the reaction of the new administration to issues of cybersecurity, it will still remain to be one of the most pressing issues the U.S. will face to date. Tiro Security offers both training and services to assist in the possible future actions to come should it be that President-elect Trump follows the recommendations made in this study or not. For more information on training services visit our website, or contact us here.

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