Cybersecurity Through a National Lens

After the SolarWinds Orion and Colonial Pipeline incidents earlier this year, it became evident that cybersecurity was a national concern. On May 12, 2021, the White House issued an executive order addressing this growing issue and providing guidance on how to improve our nation’s security posture as a whole.   

In the executive order, President Joe Biden emphasizes the need to modernize federal government cybersecurity through new policies, increased transparency for incident communication and emerging technologies. Three key components of this strategy are zero trust architecture, multifactor authentication and tools for heightened visibility and incident response.  

The White House also released a memo to businesses in the private sector encouraging them to implement similar heightened security practices to help protect themselves and their stakeholders from cyberattacks. 

In the past, government agencies and private companies had very loose guidance on what was expected of their security postures, leaving organizations without a mature and robust security strategy at a major disadvantage. This initiative allows the nation to take a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity and encourages attention to detail across the board. 

“I think that the focus by the federal government on this type of cybersecurity will cause a knock-on effect that, over time, will increase the security posture for most organizations in the United States, regardless of whether or not they do business with the federal government,” says Thomas Jefferies, Head of IT Security at ivision. 

Implementing these best strategies and recommendations puts businesses in a better position to guard themselves from malicious cyber actors. ivision has been a long-time champion of these practices and is equipped with the expertise and resources to help your business adapt to these new guidelines.