Why the U.S. is Focused on Increasing its National Cyber Defenses in 2023

Because cyber threats are consistently on the rise, the need for protection is increasing at a personal level, for businesses, and even for the United States at a national level. Based on increasing cybercrimes from foreign threats, the White House unveiled the direction of their new cybersecurity strategy in March of 2023. This strategy was created to increase the country’s national cyber defenses and lead the direction of cybersecurity throughout the United States. We should expect to see this reflected in how cyber security is approached and regulated, so let’s consider this strategy and how it may make an impact.

This White House strategy is centered around closer regulation of cybersecurity practices for all businesses in all industries, including more government collaboration in these efforts. It was introduced to manage increasing cyber threats brought on by domestic entities as well as foreign threats including China and Russia, especially since cyber threats have become a prominent strategy in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. One of the main cyber threats that’s come into focus is ransomware attacks where control of data or computer systems is obtained and then held for ransom. Access to the systems or data is denied until ransom payments are made to the criminals, making it a costly and potentially devastating crime.

One of the key points of this announced strategy is that the government is hoping to alleviate some of these increasing problems for the criminal justice department, helping to defend against these attacks so that there is less reliance on punishing criminals after they’ve struck. Through these increased efforts, the White House is hoping to dissuade foreign cyber threats from striking.

Another crucial part of this strategy includes improving the standards for how computer system vulnerabilities are patched. This measure aims to make patches faster and more reliable, granting users and businesses more protection, and minimizing the window of opportunity that any cyber threats may find.

Yet another impact this has made includes how cloud data can be accessed. An executive order was signed that requires businesses that utilize cloud services to use more strict guidelines to verify the identities of their users. This would add further protect ion for precious personal and business data from being accessed by cyber criminals.

With these measures implemented, we should expect to see a trend in government intervention and regulation with regard to cybersecurity. We should anticipate measures made to increase our defenses, but we can also act on our own to bolster our cyber protections based on this recent news.

If you’re looking to learn more about the latest cybersecurity standards for your business, I would be happy to help.

The information presented here is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.