White House Issues Executive Order Aimed at Protecting Federal Government Networks and Improving Nation’s Cybersecurity

Yesterday the White House issued an executive order focused on improving the digital defenses of federal agencies and contractors but that could eventually become common practice, including in the private sector. The executive order calls for the removal of barriers to reporting breaches that could impact federal government networks, modernizing and implementing stronger cybersecurity standards, strengthening a program that involves testing a product’s security before it is sold to the federal government, and improving the ability to detect malicious cyber activity on federal networks, among other measures. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Acting Director Brandon Wales released a statement (posted below) following the executive order’s release in which he expressed hope it would help to improve the nation’s cybersecurity. He stated, “And because the federal government must lead by example, the executive order will catalyze progress in adopting leading security practices like zero-trust architectures and secure cloud environments.” Read the executive order and an accompanying fact sheet at the White House.