Written by Christian Vazquez
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Jen Easterly said the agency’s priorities for 2023 include working with state and local officials to prepare for the upcoming presidential election; and breaking into corporate boards to improve how executives manage cyber risks.
“As we gear up for the 2024 general election, we will be focusing on the next year,” Easterly said on Tuesday, speaking to the agency’s cybersecurity advisory board, an independent body that helps guide the CISA strategy. said at a meeting with
In addition, to focus on corporate cyber responsibility, she said, through a newly created subcommittee within the Advisory Board, “the board and senior management should work together to effectively manage cybersecurity risks.” “What do we have to do?” he said.
Only one year old, the Advisory Board has become an influential voice in setting CISA’s priorities. Already he has held 94 meetings and made 48 recommendations. Easterly noted that CISA had accepted “virtually all” of the group’s first batch of 24 recommendations, but did not provide details of all the proposals to implement.
Two early pieces of advice included holding a “what to expect” session with the press and election officials on Election Day and hiring Chief Human Resources Officer Elizabeth Kolmstetter. was
In addition to helping improve board-level cyber preparedness and continuing to work on election security, Eastly said the agency will devote resources to the “talent management ecosystem and people-first culture at CISA.” I was.
In addition, Easterly also supports CISA’s Cyber 311 Initiative, a subcommittee of government agencies focused on “making the technology ecosystem secure by design and secure by default,” a so-called “target-rich , said it would support the “resource-scarce” sector. K-12 education, hospitals, water and sewerage facilities, small businesses, etc.
She also said CISA will continue to work on the National Cybersecurity Alert system.
“Shield’s Up … For a nation’s cyber defense to be sustainable, the new normal must become the new normal, but we cannot maintain the highest level of vigilance indefinitely because we suffer from alert fatigue.” Easterly said. .
Easterly also said it will roll out a public service awareness campaign later this year. “We know this has to be clear, simple, inspiring, and compelling to be appreciated by the American public.”
