Biden Admin Unveils Cybersecurity Framework to Address Borderless Cyber Threats

A National Cybersecurity Strategy was unveiled by the Biden administration on Thursday, Feb. 3, with the goal of defending the country's vital infrastructure against a "complex," "transnational," and "borderless" cyber threat landscape, as per a report from Fox News.

According to US officials, the country will reimagine the cyber environment to achieve its goals that reflect the values of economic security and prosperity, democracy, equity and diversity, and human rights.

Cybersecurity Strategy

The goal of the strategy is to rebalance the burden of protecting cyberspace by placing it on the entities that are most qualified and well-positioned to do so. This includes local governments, small enterprises, and individuals.

According to officials, the policy acknowledges that for the protection of national security, public safety, and economic development, the government must use all instruments of national power.

The officials claim that state and non-state actors are creating and carrying out innovative campaigns to damage American interests, presenting a complex threat environment for the country.

Hence, the strategy lays out a plan for dealing with these challenges and protecting the US's digital future.

Transnational Threats

According to Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser, cyber threats are "fundamentally transnational threats."

She explained in a statement, quoted by Fox News, that cyberspace is mostly borderless."Cyber defense matters in the modern geopolitical climate, and we must work with our close allies and partners to deliver the security we all need and our citizens deserve."

The Biden administration is also prioritizing efforts to combat ransomware, according to Neuberger, who said that the administration is now considering ransomware as a threat to national security rather than just a critical issue.

The whole approach is built on five pillars, one of which is protecting essential infrastructure by expanding the implementation of minimal cybersecurity standards in crucial industries to maintain public safety and national security.

The policy aims to employ "all instruments of national power" to prevent harmful cyber actors from endangering US national security.

The other pillars include investing in a resilient future, influencing market forces to drive security, and creating global alliances to pursue common objectives.

The strategy, according to acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden, builds on President Biden's executive order from 2021, which sought to strengthen US cybersecurity defenses by requiring all federal agencies to use fundamental cybersecurity measures, such as multifactor authentication and new security standards on software developers who work for the government.