President Biden’s Executive Order on Cybersecurity Impact On Chicago Businesses

Recent large-scale cyberattacks have created an immense impact across the nation, slowing supply chains and causing immense panic. President Biden has responded by issuing an executive order on cybersecurity: an order designed to increase security across federal government facilities and create a better degree of protection for American citizens.

Many of the standards named in the executive order apply primarily to federal agencies. They include higher cybersecurity standards for the Federal government as a whole as well as some standards that businesses will need to meet.

What does that mean for Chicago businesses? Take a look at these basic standards and how they could impact your business.

1. Businesses now have a higher degree of responsibility when it comes to reporting attacks and sharing information.

In the past, many businesses have found their IT departments stuck in a tight spot. They might have information about a cyber threat that could impact other businesses or the government as a whole, but they could not share that information. President Biden’s executive order establishes the means those businesses can use in order to share information about cyber threats and reduces potential penalties that could go along with sharing that information.

2. Businesses will have more information about what led to large-scale cyberattacks and how they can respond.

As part of the executive order, President Biden is establishing a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board. This board will step in following severe cyberattacks and take a look at how they occurred, analyze potential weaknesses, and provide information about how businesses can avoid similar threats in the future. Thanks to the Cybersecurity Safety Review Board, your business may have a more in-depth look at how specific threats took place. The board will not be restricted, like the business owners and IT team at the impacted business, by the need and desire to get the business up and running again as soon as possible. Rather, it can focus on all the elements behind the attack–and provide critical recommendations that may make it easier for your Chicago business to avoid similar threats in the future.

3. Software sold to the government will need to meet higher overall security standards.

Not only must developers maintain a high degree of transparency with regards to their software and its security measures if they intend to sell it to government facilities and organizations, but they may also need, overall, to offer greater visibility into their cybersecurity measures when selling to businesses as a whole. For your business, that can make it much easier to select the right apps, platforms, and programs to maintain security protections around your business and avoid allowing a hacker access through a third-party app.

4. Cybersecurity standards are changing and increasing quickly.

For the first time, the federal government is acknowledging the immense threat that cyberattacks could pose for the nation as a whole. It sets out the need to establish better security on a number of fronts–and your business needs to focus on establishing and maintaining that same high level of security to protect your customers and your business as a whole.

The order lays out several clear areas where the federal government needs to improve its cybersecurity measures. If your business has fallen behind on those important cybersecurity fronts, it’s time for you to step up your cybersecurity game and make sure you’re prepared in these critical areas.

Basic Cybersecurity Standards

As the federal government increases its overall cybersecurity standards, including instituting secure cloud services, multifactor authentication, and encryption methods, your business may also need to consider the advantages of those measures. Take a look at your existing security and consider how it compares, not to basic compliance standards, but to the latest security standards across the industry. Cybersecurity compliance standards often lag far behind the latest security measures taken by industry experts. As the federal government seeks to improve its overall security, you may want to take a look at the way your business is functioning.

Detection Standards

A strong ability to detect a threat and respond quickly can help protect an organization. With every second that malicious activity continues on your network unchecked, you can lose more data and information. By utilizing robust detection standards, you can often do a better job of detecting threats as they arise, which means, in turn, that you can decrease the impact of those threats.

Enhanced Response Plans

In today’s society, it is no longer a question of if your business will face a cyberattack, but rather when. With his executive order on cybersecurity, President Biden has acknowledged the critical importance of establishing a playbook that will choreograph the response to cybersecurity incidents across government networks. Trying to figure out how to respond to a cybersecurity threat once you’ve been compromised is like trying to plan a battle only once you’ve already been overrun. With an improved response plan, however, your business can better react to potential threats and decrease the impact of those attacks on your customers and your bottom line.

Improved Remediation Methods

In addition to establishing better overall cybersecurity protections, President Biden’s executive order on cybersecurity establishes the need to create event logs regarding cybersecurity incidents. Those logs can make it easier to detect intrusions, mitigate them, and test the full extent of the damage once the incident has been contained. Poor logs, on the other hand, can make it difficult to establish the details of the attack or to recreate it after the fact. Furthermore, those logs can make it easier to share information about the exact terms and scope of the attack.

Cybersecurity has become an increasing threat to Chicago businesses and businesses across the nation. As the federal government moves to acknowledge the scope of this threat, more businesses are also recognizing the need to respond quickly and effectively to whatever cyberattacks may come their way. Are you ready to improve your business’s cybersecurity and take advantage of new plans and standards held by the federal government? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help enhance and improve your security.