Not leaving politics for a moment, let’s jump into the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. This agency made news for the dismissal of Chris Krebs, one of the government’s most senior cybersecurity officials.
I’m highlighting a MIT Technology Review piece today around the power of the CISA, as most of the US’s most sensitive networks are managed by this agency. CISA’s mandate includes managing cybersecurity issues but also defending against other kinds of threats, like terrorism, weather disasters, and sabotage.
The agency needs more funding, says experts, to drive its expansive mission, and a bipartisan congressional project that focuses on the future of American strategy in cyberspace recommends investing in the agency, and to have it lead “the government response to major cyber incidents in both the public and private sectors and to have the authority to hunt cyber threats across the entire government outside of the military—which, they note, boasts a much larger cybersecurity budget at about $9.6 billion and growing, compared with approximately $2 billion for CISA. “
At the nation state level, we’re seeing the formalization of efforts on managing cybersecurity. This pairs with the recent story about the UK’s National Cyber Force, and shows the direction.
I’m expecting more investment in this space by governments – which is why we care. Think this through: A pro-business stance of protecting against criminal activity by investing in standards, regulation, and enforcement against cybercrime. If you’re an insurance company, you absolutely want this. And it makes sense for elected officials.
So expect to see more… and it’s a winning issue for the government.
Source: MIT Technology Review