Biden discusses national cybersecurity with tech giants and education institutions

The US President Joe Biden met with private sector and education leaders to discuss how to improve cybersecurity in the USA. Participants from tech, finance, insurance companies and educational organisations reflected on opportunities to bolster national cybersecurity in partnership and individually. The discussions were held in three parallel sessions: ‘Critical Infrastructure Resilience,’ ‘Building Enduring Cybersecurity,’ and ‘Cybersecurity Workforce’.

On critical infrastructure resilience, the US government announced two initiatives. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and partners will develop a new framework to improve the security and integrity of the technology supply chain. Microsoft, Google, IBM, Travelers, and Coalition committed to participating in the initiative. The second government initiative is expanding the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative to cover natural gas pipelines.

Insurance companies Resilience and Coalition also made commitments regarding critical infrastructure resilience. Resilience will require policy holders to meet a threshold of cybersecurity best practice as a condition of receiving coverage. Coalition will make its cybersecurity risk assessment and continuous monitoring platform available for free to any organization.

Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft made commitments towards building enduring cybersecurity. Amazon will make the security awareness training it offers its employees available to the public for free. Apple will establish a new program to drive continuous security improvements such as mass adoption of multi-factor authentication, security training, vulnerability remediation, event logging, and incident response throughout its supply chain. Google will invest US$10 billion over the next five years to expand zero-trust programs, help secure the software supply chain, and enhance open-source security. Microsoft will invest US$20 billion over the next 5 years to accelerate efforts to integrate cyber security by design and deliver advanced security solutions. 

IBM, Code.org, Girls Who Code and University of Texas System made commitments towards building a cybersecurity workforce in an effort to help fill the estimated 500,000 cyber workplaces gap. IBM will train 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over the next three years, and will establish Cybersecurity Leadership Centers in partnership with more than 20 Historically Black Colleges & Universities to grow a more diverse cyber workforce. Code.org will teach cybersecurity concepts to over 3 million students over 3 years. Girls Who Code will establish a micro credentialing program for historically excluded groups in technology.  University of Texas System will expand existing and develop new short-term credentials in cyber-related. Whatcom Community College will provide cybersecurity education and training to faculty and support program development for colleges to “fast-track” students from college to career.