
As the world continues its digital transformation, governments find themselves taking on roles they have never taken on before. Last month, The White House released a historic, “first-of-its-kind" report on the status of U.S. cybersecurity posture: The 2024 Report on the Cybersecurity Posture of the United States.
What Is The White House’s Cybersecurity Strategy?
This report outlines how the nation has done pursuant to The White House’s 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS), another “first-of-its-kind" document that outlines paths to achieving “a defensible, resilient, and values-aligned digital ecosystem.” As noted in the Fact Sheet for the 2024 report, this requires a two-fold shift in security tactics for the U.S.; namely, moving the cybersecurity burden away from individual end-users and toward “the most capable and best-positioned" actors in the public and private sectors, and focusing on long-term (rather than immediate) investments in resilience.
The 40-page report reviews the U.S.’ progress towards five major areas of improvement. While the full report is well worth the read, we’ve spared you the trouble by highlighting the main points.
What Are the Top Threat Trends?
The top five threat trends, as identified in The White House’s 2023 Cybersecurity Strategy, formed the basis of cybersecurity improvement efforts across the past twelve months. Those trends are as follows:
Evolving Risks to Critical Infrastructure
As noted in the report, the United States currently faces “unacceptable cyber risks” to its critical infrastructure. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was called out as a specific threat. Multiple times, nation-state actors from the PRC have targeted U.S. and allied entities solely for their strategic value to critical infrastructure stability.Ransomware
Since 2022, ransomware reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) have risen by 22% and the average cost of ransomware incidents has skyrocketed by 74%. These attacks threaten not only economic prosperity but national security and public safety, according to the report. “Double” and “triple” extortion tactics have added to the crime’s success, as has criminal specialization; multiple ransomware actors working together to develop and distribute the ransomware attacks, as well as divide the payout.Supply Chain Exploitation
A common reliance on third-party service providers, along with increasingly complex and interconnected supply chains, makes supply chain exploitation not only easier than ever but more difficult to track. The report mentions several high-profile incidents last year where supply chain attacks stole valuable credentials and impacted thousands of American citizens, “including critical infrastructure owners and operators.”Commercial Spyware
A recent boom in unregulated and illegal commercial spyware technologies has contributed to the increased targeting of human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and government officials. Now, “world-class capabilities” are offered for a price to anyone willing to pay, often including authoritarian regimes that use those capabilities to limit freedom and abuse human rights.Artificial Intelligence
One of “the most powerful technologies of our time,” as stated in the report, artificial intelligence (AI) will present a few significant advantages to U.S. cybersecurity defenders. Namely, discovering anomalous and harmful network traffic, coordinating complex security networks, and force-multiplying a resource-stretched cybersecurity workforce. It can also be used harmfully to create powerful phishing campaigns or power surveillance and censorship technologies, and more regulation is demanded.
What Are the Main Strategies for Improvement?
The collected efforts of U.S. cybersecurity improvement coalesce around such key pillars as:
Defend Critical Infrastructure
Collaboration is key in this element, be it through updating incident response plans (see the new SEC Regulation S-P requirements), creating new regulations to secure critical infrastructure, or enhancing communication between the Federal Government and the private sector. While groups like the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) and a host of state-sponsored cybersecurity bills are clear steps in the right direction, more needs to be done to create unified baselines and scalable security objectives across all US entities. The proposed Insure Cybersecurity Act of 2023 is a good start.Disrupt and Dismantle Threat Actors
In addition to building the good, mitigating the bad is a second key principle. To combat the five threats above — critical infrastructure risk, ransomware, supply chain exploitation, rampant spyware, and ill-used AI — the U.S. is looking for ways to faster facilitate cyber threat intelligence to defend against national security threats.Shape Market Forces to Improve Security
Increasingly, these market forces center around consumer data and how to use it, collect it, and protect it. It is key that organizations in possession of sensitive customer data feel an obligation (and are legally bound) to use it responsibly and secure it reasonably. The White House has determined that establishing legal consequences for poor data handling is the most efficient route to incentivizing secure software production and ensuring secure information management.
For a full list of the five key pillars that comprise the U.S.’ security approach, download Fortra’s Understanding the White House’s 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy eBook.
Why Keep Pace with Government Cybersecurity Initiatives?
As threats to national security and cybersecurity become synonymous, we will increasingly see governments around the world take swift and sudden action to retrofit old defense plans for a new era. If the rate of technological change is any indication, those plans will be on a trajectory of constant improvement for a very long time. However, keeping pace with national requirements for cybersecurity is one of the best ways organizations can take advantage of government-funded research and standards; initiatives and perspectives most private sector companies would otherwise be unable to afford.
Make Fortra Your Cybersecurity Ally
Our mission at Fortra is to help organizations increase security maturity while decreasing operational burden. Our vision is a stronger, simpler future for cybersecurity. Who’s with us?