How Local and State Governments Can Implement the US National Cybersecurity Strategy
On March 2, the Biden-Harris Administration released a National Cybersecurity Strategy aimed at securing a safe digital ecosystem for all Americans that aligns with American values. The strategy involves fundamental shifts in how roles, responsibilities, and resources are allocated in cyberspace. This includes shifting the burden of cybersecurity away from individuals, small businesses, and local governments onto organizations that are best positioned to reduce risk.
The National Cybersecurity Strategy focuses on five key pillars to enhance cybersecurity and promote collaboration. These pillars are:
- Defending critical infrastructure
- Dismantling cyber criminals
- Shaping market forces to boost security and resilience
- Investing in a resilient future
- Forging international partnerships
The strategy aims to protect personal data, reduce technical vulnerabilities, and prioritize cybersecurity research. It also seeks to establish joint preparedness and response with international partners. The Office of the National Cyber Director is leading the strategy’s implementation.
The Pillars
Pillar 1
Defend Critical Infrastructure:
The National Cybersecurity Strategy seeks to make critical infrastructure more resilient and available. It expands minimum cybersecurity requirements in key sectors. The strategy reduces compliance burdens by harmonizing regulations and fostering public-private collaboration. It also modernizes federal networks and updates incident response policies.
Pillar 2
Disrupt & Dismantle Threat Actors:
The National Cybersecurity Strategy seeks to neutralize malicious cyber actors threatening national security and public safety. It leverages all national power tools to disrupt adversaries. This includes collaborating with private companies in scalable ways. The strategy also tackles the ransomware threat through a comprehensive Federal approach. It involves working with international partners to address the issue effectively.
Pillar 3
Shape Market Forces to Drive Security & Resilience:
The National Cybersecurity Strategy focuses on shaping market forces to drive security and resilience in the digital ecosystem. First, the strategy aims to place responsibility on those who can best reduce risk. By shifting the consequences of poor cybersecurity away from the most vulnerable, it seeks to make the digital ecosystem more trustworthy.
Additionally, the strategy wants to protect people’s privacy and use government funding to support secure and long-lasting infrastructure. By implementing these measures, the National Cybersecurity Strategy intends to create a more secure and trustworthy digital ecosystem for everyone.
Pillar 4
Invest in a Resilient Future:
To foster a resilient future, The National Cybersecurity Strategy plans to make strategic investments and coordinate collaborative action. The aim is for the US to lead the world in the innovation of secure and resilient next-generation technologies and infrastructure. This includes reducing systemic technical vulnerabilities in the foundation of the Internet and across the digital ecosystem while making it more resilient against transnational digital repression.
Moreover, the strategy gives precedence to research and development in cybersecurity for emerging technologies like post-quantum encryption, digital identity solutions, and sustainable energy infrastructure. The strategy also focuses on developing a diverse and robust national cyber workforce.
Pillar 5
Forge International Partnerships to Pursue Shared Goals:
To pursue shared goals and promote responsible state behavior in cyberspace, The National Cybersecurity Strategy seeks to forge international partnerships. The strategy’s objective is to discourage irresponsible behavior in the digital world by making it expensive and unpopular. It also aims to work with other countries that have similar goals to address threats to the digital ecosystem. This will involve preparing together, responding to threats together, and imposing costs on those who behave irresponsibly.
The United States wants to help its partners improve their defense against cyber threats. This support covers both every day and emergencies. The US also plans to work with allies to build secure and reliable global supply chains. These chains cover information, communication, and technology products.
Implementing the National Cybersecurity Strategy at the Local Level
Local and state governments can look to the Biden cybersecurity strategy as a model for implementing similar measures at the local level. The strategy presents a complete plan for improving cybersecurity and resilience in essential services and critical infrastructure, safeguarding the privacy and security of personal data, and developing international collaborations to achieve common objectives.
One of the primary pillars of the strategy is focused on defending critical infrastructure. This involves establishing minimum cybersecurity requirements for critical sectors, enabling public-private collaboration, and modernizing federal networks. Additionally, local and state governments can take similar actions to safeguard critical infrastructure within their jurisdictions. This may include collaborating with private sector partners to establish minimum cybersecurity standards and developing incident response plans to quickly respond to potential cyber threats.
Furthermore, investing in a resilient future is another essential aspect of the strategy. This includes reducing technical vulnerabilities, prioritizing research and development in cybersecurity, and building a strong and diverse cyber workforce. Local and state governments can follow this lead by emphasizing cybersecurity research and development, investing in secure and durable next-generation technologies and infrastructure, and creating programs to attract and develop cyber talent.
By adopting measures based on the Biden cybersecurity strategy, local and state governments can strengthen their cybersecurity and resilience. Consequently, they will help contribute to a safer and more secure digital ecosystem.
Partnering with vTECH io for Local and State Governments’ Cybersecurity Needs
To summarize, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled the National Cybersecurity Strategy with five pillars to ensure digital security. These pillars assign new responsibilities, roles, and resources to safeguard critical infrastructure, discourage cybercrime, prioritize security, invest in the future, and establish global partnerships. Local governments can adopt this model to enhance cybersecurity and create a safer digital environment.
At vTECH io, We understand the unique challenges that local and state governments face when it comes to cybersecurity, and we are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop tailored solutions that meet your specific needs. Our expert team can help you create cybersecurity measures based on the latest and most effective cybersecurity strategies. To contact us simply click here, fill out the form, and you will be one step closer to creating a secure environment for your organization.