Biden Administration Unveils Sweeping Executive Order to Boost US Cybersecurity

WASHINGTON D.C. - In an effort to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order requiring the federal government to develop and deploy advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance its defenses against cyber threats.

The order, which was issued on Thursday, includes a series of measures aimed at improving the country's cybersecurity posture, from modernizing IT infrastructure and networks to adopting secure software acquisition practices. It also requires the federal government to accelerate research at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity.

According to the executive order, AI has the potential to transform cyber defense by rapidly identifying new vulnerabilities, increasing the scale of threat detection techniques, and automating cyber defense. The government must therefore accelerate the development and deployment of AI technologies that can help improve surveillance, detection, and response capabilities.

The order also highlights the ongoing cybersecurity threats posed by countries such as China, which is believed to be behind several high-profile attacks on US targets in recent months. In December, a Chinese hacking group called Silicon Typhoon was implicated in a cyber attack on the US Treasury Department, while in January, the United States imposed sanctions on a Beijing-based cybersecurity company for its alleged involvement in malicious botnet operations.

In addition to AI development and deployment, the executive order requires the federal government to take several other actions aimed at improving its cybersecurity. These include adopting secure software acquisition practices, ensuring that software providers use secure software development practices, implementing strong identity authentication and encryption, and modernizing IT infrastructure and networks.

The move is seen as an effort by the administration to address growing concerns about US cybersecurity in a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. "Adversarial countries and criminals continue to conduct cyber campaigns targeting the United States and Americans," the executive order stated. "These campaigns disrupt the delivery of critical services across the Nation, cost billions of dollars, and undermine Americans' security and privacy."