Biden issues executive order to strengthen US cybersecurity defenses
President Joe Biden today signed an executive order that is aimed at strengthening U.S. cybersecurity defenses.
Coming less than a week after pipeline system operator Colonial Pipeline Co. was crippled by a ransomware attack resulting in gas shortages on the U.S. East Coast, the executive order outlines a range of initiatives. They include reducing barriers to information sharing between government and the private sector, mandating the use of multifactor authentication by government departments, establishing a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board and creating a standardized response playbook for responding to cyberattacks.
by Grant Gross Print this article
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a comprehensive privacy law that gives consumers the right to access their personal data held by companies and allows them to request that it be deleted.
The Virginia law, which goes into effect in January 2023, also requires covered companies to conduct data protection assessments on personal information used for targeted advertising and sales purposes. Its passage gives companies doing business in the United States a second comprehensive state privacy bill to comply with after California passed a privacy law in 2018.
Some privacy advocates praise the Virginia law s focus on data security. Data protection assessments are a valuable way for businesses to understand what data they collect, said Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at privacy tool reviews site ProPrivacy.com.
Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images via Getty Images
The cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline illustrates how difficult it will be for electric utilities to protect their grids from disruption
, experts say
, even when attacks are primarily targeting information technology (IT) systems.
The Colonial ransomware attack never migrated into the pipeline s operational technology (OT) environment, and the company says the shutdown was a proactive safety measure. That s good protocol, security experts say, though it simultaneously exposes a vulnerability: If you have an attack on the IT network, the OT network is going to go down, according to electric utility sector security consultant Tom Alrich.
Created: December 24, 2020 06:10 AM
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