President Joe Biden signed a National Security memo to strengthen cybersecurity for critical infrastructure against cyberattacks and counter major online attacks against sectors of the federal government and private businesses.
“The cybersecurity threats posed to the systems that control and operate the critical infrastructure on which we all depend are among the most significant and growing issues confronting our nation,” the memo states.
“The degradation, destruction, or malfunction of systems that control this infrastructure can have cascading physical consequences that could have a debilitating effect on national security, economic security, and the public health and safety of the American people,” the memo states.
The memo outlines several goals, including developing cybersecurity performance goals and deploying technology and systems that provide threat visibility, indicators, detections and warnings.
According to the memo, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce (through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology) and other agencies, as appropriate, shall develop and issue cybersecurity performance goals for critical infrastructure to further a common understanding of the baseline security practices that critical infrastructure owners and operators should follow to protect national and economic security, as well as public health and safety.
The memo includes directives for federal departments, while the administration is also calling for tougher action from private companies.
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