The White House has confirmed a meeting between President Joe Biden and major corporate leaders to discuss ways to improve cybersecurity in the US. The summit resulted in several measures announced by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon to improve security in the tech industry.
Biden issued an executive order in May on improving federal government cybersecurity and followed that with a memo in July on protecting critical infrastructure in the US. The latest effort will see the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) collaborate with industry and other partners to develop guidelines for public and private entities on building secure technology and assessing the security of technology, including open source software. Microsoft, Google, IBM, Travelers and Coalition committed to participating in this NIST-led initiative.
The government also announced the formal expansion of the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative to a second major sector: natural gas pipelines. The Initiative started earlier this year already with electricity utilities.
Corporate efforts include a new programme at Apple to drive continuous security improvements throughout the technology supply chain. Apple will work with its suppliers, including more than 9,000 in the US, to drive the mass adoption of multi-factor authentication, security training, vulnerability remediation, event logging, and incident response.
Google announced it will invest USD 10 billion over the next five years to expand zero-trust programs, help secure the software supply chain, and enhance open-source security. Google also announced it will help 100,000 Americans earn digital skills certificates.
IBM plans to train 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over the next three years. In addition, the company will partner with more than 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities to establish Cybersecurity Leadership Centers to grow a more diverse cyber workforce.
Microsoft announced it will invest USD 20 billion over the next five years to accelerate efforts to integrate cyber security by design and deliver advanced security products. Microsoft also will immediately make available USD 150 million in technical services to help federal, state, and local governments with upgrading security protection, and will expand partnerships with community colleges and non-profits for cybersecurity training.
Amazon announced it will make available to the public at no charge the security awareness training it offers its employees. Amazon also will provide all Amazon Web Services account holders at no additional cost a multi-factor authentication device to protect against cybersecurity threats like phishing and password theft.
Resilience, a cyber insurance provider, announced it will require policy holders to meet a threshold of cybersecurity best practice as a condition of receiving coverage. Coalition, another cyber insurance provider, announced it will make its cybersecurity risk assessment and continuous monitoring platform available for free to any organization.
Code.org announced it will teach cybersecurity concepts to over 3 million students across 35,000 classrooms over three years. The group Girls Who Code will establish a micro credentialing program for historically excluded groups in technology. The program will make scholarships and early career opportunities more accessible to underrepresented groups.
