On May 12, 2021, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) on cybersecurity titled, Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.
The EO claims to make a significant contribution towards modernizing cybersecurity defenses by protecting federal networks, improving information-sharing between the government and private sector and strengthening the nation’s ability to respond to incidents. Influenced by several high profile cyber incidents including the Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds, the EO targets several cyber initiatives including:
Remove Barriers to Threat Information Sharing Between Government and the Private Sector.
The EO ensures that IT Service Providers are able to share information with the government and requires them to share certain breach information.
Modernize and Implement Stronger Cybersecurity Standards in the Federal Government.
The EO helps move the Federal government to secure cloud services and a zero-trust architecture, and mandates deployment of multifactor authentication and encryption with a specific time period.
Improve Software Supply Chain Security.
The EO will improve the security of software by establishing baseline security standards for development of software sold to the government, including requiring developers to maintain greater visibility into their software and making security data publicly available.
Establish a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board.
The EO establishes a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board, co-chaired by government and private sector leads that may convene following a significant cyber incident to analyze what happened and make concrete recommendations for improving cybersecurity.
Create a Standard Playbook for Responding to Cyber Incidents.
The EO creates a standardized playbook and set of definitions for cyber incident response by federal departments and agencies. The playbook will ensure all Federal agencies meet a certain threshold and are prepared to take uniform steps to identify and mitigate a threat. The playbook will also provide the private sector with a template for its response efforts.
Improve Detection of Cybersecurity Incidents on Federal Government Networks.
The EO improves the ability to detect malicious cyber activity on federal networks by enabling a government-wide endpoint detection and response system and improved information sharing within the Federal government. The Federal government should lead in cybersecurity, and strong, Government-wide Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) deployment coupled with robust intra-governmental information sharing are essential.
Improve Investigative and Remediation Capabilities.
The EO creates cybersecurity event log requirements for federal departments and agencies. Poor logging hampers an organization’s ability to detect intrusions, mitigate those in progress, and determine the extent of an incident after the fact.
While the consensus is that the intentions of the EO is in the right place, industry experts debate if good intentions will have an immediate impact on the rampant cybersecurity attacks impacting the federal and private sectors. It is important to remember that an EO are not statutes, rather formal documentation of policy directives and expressions of a president’s opinion – and without congress’s support, are not enforceable on the private sector.
White House Resources
- Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity
- FACT SHEET: President Signs Executive Order Charting New Course to Improve the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Protect Federal Government Networks
About Schneider Downs Cybersecurity
The Schneider Downs cybersecurity practice consists of experts offering a comprehensive set of information technology security services, including penetration testing, intrusion prevention/detection review, ransomware security, vulnerability assessments and a robust digital forensics and incident response team. For more information, visit www.schneiderdowns.com/cybersecurity or contact the team at [email protected].
In addition, our Digital Forensics and Incident Response teams are available 24x7x365 at 1-800-993-8937 if you suspect or are experiencing a network incident of any kind.
