The Cybersecurity 202: Biden administration issues executive order in wake of pipeline attack Tonya Riley
with Aaron Schaffer In the wake of yet another major cyberattack, the Biden administration unveiled a historic cybersecurity directive that officials hope will initiate major change in U.S. cybersecurity standards. The directive outlines a number of measures to strengthen federal cybersecurity, including instilling more rigorous security requirements for software providers that contract with the federal government, improving reporting practices for cybersecurity incidents and requiring federal agencies to adopt better security practices.
“We simply cannot let waiting for the next incident to happen to be the status quo under which we operate, a White House official said.
Joe Biden. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered the creation of an air accident-style cyber review board and the imposition of new software standards for government agencies following a spate of digital intrusions that have rattled the country.
The executive order’s initiatives include the creation of a organisation that would investigate major hacks along the lines of National Transportation Safety Board inquiries that are launched after plane crashes. They also include the imposition of new security standards for software bought by government agencies.
The order follows a digital extortion attempt against major fuel transport company Colonial Pipeline that triggering panic buying and fuel shortages in the south-eastern US.
“My administration is committed to safeguarding our critical infrastructure, much of which is privately owned and managed like Colonial,” Biden said at the White House. “Private entities are making their own determinations on cybersecurity.”
The Colonial Pipeline hack has shined a light on long standing concerns around private industry owning and operating the vast majority of the nation’s critical infrastructure, often leading to less transparency for the federal government into security operations.
It has also raised concerns that the oil and gas sector has less oversight than other utilities.
In the wake of the ransomware attack on the pipeline carried out by a criminal organization known as DarkSide, according to the FBI officials are taking a closer look at the sector.
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