Event recap | Opportunities and challenges presented by EO 14028

Cybersecurity Digital Policy Technology & Innovation

June 21, 2021

Event recap | Opportunities and challenges presented by EO 14028

By the GeoTech Center

Event description

The increasing threat of ransomware and software supply chain attacks has created the need for urgent responses, and EO 14028 is one of many important steps to protect US cybersecurity. The Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center held a private roundtable discussion in cooperation with Virtru to discuss the import of the Executive Order. In their conversation, all discussants were optimistic about the current trajectory of US cybersecurity. They emphasized future opportunities to collaborate with the private sector, standardize protocols, and educate the public.

One speaker explained that EO 14028 will quickly and effectively be implemented because the EO has specific short- and long-term goals for multiple agencies. By building upon existing cyberinfrastructure, the order avoids the delay of overhauling technology. Moreover, the implementation of EO 14028 provides many opportunities to build and enhance relationships between the private and public sector.

The long-term implementation of EO 14028 will require more money for relevant agencies, and careful attention to how its new protocols shift financial burdens is necessary. The government however can do more to nudge people and companies towards safer cyber practices, and laws can be changed to make inadequate cybersecurity protocols more expensive. The need to improve software, hardware, and user awareness is pressing as ever but should primarily focus on software such as TCP/IP. Threats can emerge in any place with internet access, and government and industry must provide information to keep people cyber conscious and resources to allow them to innovate in their respective industries.