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A lack of centralized leadership, especially at the White House level, is hindering the federal government's ability to address numerous cybersecurity issues, such as the SolarWinds supply chain attack that affected federal agencies and others, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
Since 2010, the GAO has made over 3,300 recommendations to improve cybersecurity standards and practices across the federal government, and as of December 2020, about 750 - including 100 that are considered priority recommendations - have not been implemented, according to the report published Tuesday.
The GAO says the 2018 National Cyber Strategy and the National Security Council's 2019 Implementation Plan, issued during the Trump administration, lacked "important characteristics of a national strategy," which made these plans less effective in addressing pressing cybersecurity issues. The nation's cybersecurity stance has regressed over the last two years since the GAO's last report on the issue, the watchdog agency notes.