Following on the heels of a report from the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, President Barack Obama addressed the state of the nation’s cybersecurity last week.
The commission, which consisted of leaders from both industry and academia, assessed U.S. cybersecurity and made recommendations for how the government and private sectors could proceed to both secure and grow the economy. In many ways, it reaffirmed the president’s call for a 35 percent increase in federal cybersecurity resources for the 2017 budget.
Both the President and the commission pointed to past efforts at cybersecurity. They addressed matters both international – such as implementation of international law to cyberspace and commitments from China and other nations to oppose cyber theft – and domestic, such as public information campaigns and the development of tools for assisting victims.
“In total, the commission’s recommendations affirm the course that this administration has laid out, but make clear that there is much more to do and the next administration, Congress, the private sector, and the general public need to build on this progress,” Obama said.
Specifically, he said expansion of authentication efforts and increased investment to research and development, as well as human capital and education, needed to join with deepening public and private cooperation to provide quicker and stronger responses to future cyber incidents.
Recognizing much of this burden would fall on the next administration, Obama also put out a call to incoming President-elect Donald Trump, without addressing him by name.
“As the commission’s report counsels, we have the opportunity to change the balance further in our favor in cyberspace – but only if we take additional bold action to do so,” Obama said. “Now it is time for the next Administration to take up this charge and ensure that cyberspace can continue to be the driver for prosperity, innovation, and change – both in the United States and around the world.”