Cyber Experts Give Thumbs Up to National Cybersecurity Strategy

The White House’s National Cybersecurity Strategy will put pressure on security providers and on their customers — private enterprises.

Forrester’s Allie Mellen

That’s according to Allie Mellen, security and risk analyst at Forrester. The cybersecurity strategy will provide a road map for how the Biden administration aims to defend the United States from a rapidly growing number of online threats.

The cybersecurity strategy will affect critical infrastructure providers, including technology companies, and look to establish a minimum set of cybersecurity requirements, Mellen said.

A key element of the new framework shifts the burden of cybersecurity away from individuals, small businesses and local governments. It puts it in the hands of technology firms, software developers and other institutions with the necessary resources and expertise.

5 Focus Areas of Cybersecurity Strategy

The cybersecurity strategy seeks to build and enhance collaboration around five areas:

• Defending critical infrastructure.
• Disrupting and dismantling threat actors.
• Shaping market forces to drive security and resilience.
• Investing in a resilient future.
• Forging international partnerships to pursue shared goals.

“Our rapidly evolving world demands a more intentional, more coordinated and more well-resourced approach to cyber defense,” the White House said in a statement. “We face a complex threat environment, with state and non-state actors developing and executing novel campaigns to threaten our interests. At the same time, next-generation technologies are reaching maturity at an accelerating pace, creating new pathways for innovation while increasing digital interdependencies. This strategy sets out a path to address these threats and secure the promise of our digital future. Its implementation will protect our investments in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, developing our clean energy sector, and re-shoring America’s technology and manufacturing base.”

Scroll through our slideshow above for more reaction to the new cybersecurity strategy.