Government , Industry Specific , Standards, Regulations & Compliance

Proof of Concept: Is New US Cyber Strategy Really Viable?

Panel Discusses Political and Policy Realities of Mandates, Vendor Liability, Costs
Clockwise, from top left: Anna Delaney, Jeremy Grant, Tom Field and Grant Schneider

In the latest "Proof of Concept" panel discussion, two Capitol Hill observers at Venable, Grant Schneider and Jeremy Grant, join Information Security Media Group editors to break down the Biden administration's new U.S. national cybersecurity strategy and answer the question, "Is it really viable?"

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The new cybersecurity strategy outlines five pillars that urge more mandates on the private sector, which controls most of the nation's digital infrastructure, and an increased government role to disrupt and dismantle threat actors. Panelists said the plan faces an uphill political battle.

"This has been for the most part a bipartisan issue, although there are some things in here that Democrats and Republicans have different views on - for example, regulation," said Grant, managing director of technology business strategy at Venable and former White House senior adviser. "Industry is also pushing back on the call that software makers be held liable. So, I do think you'll see some places where there will be a breakdown, not necessarily 100% along party lines, but things will become a bit more partisan."

In this "Proof of Concept" video, Anna Delaney, director of productions at ISMG; Jeremy Grant and Grant Schneider of Venable; and Tom Field, senior vice president of editorial at ISMG, discuss:

  • How the national cybersecurity strategy will be executed;
  • How willing Congress will be to take bipartisan action;
  • How likely software companies - in reality - will be held responsible for securing vulnerable products and maintaining the burden of cybersecurity.

Prior to joining Venable, Schneider served as the U.S. deputy federal CISO and the U.S. federal CISO and as senior director for cybersecurity policy on the White House National Security Council. He previously served for seven years as chief information officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Grant was the founding leader of the National Program Office for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace and senior executive adviser for identity management at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He led the White House's initiative to catalyze a marketplace of secure, easy-to-use, privacy-enhancing identity solutions for online services through government and private sector partnerships.

Don't miss our previous installments of "Proof of Concept," including the Oct. 17 edition on California's first consumer privacy fine and the Sept. 20 edition on what CISOs can learn from security incidents at Twitter and Uber.


About the Author

Anna Delaney

Anna Delaney

Director, ISMG Productions

An experienced broadcast journalist, Delaney conducts interviews with senior cybersecurity leaders around the world. Previously, she was editor-in-chief of the website for The European Information Security Summit, or TEISS. Earlier, she worked at Levant TV and Resonance FM and served as a researcher at the BBC and ITV in their documentary and factual TV departments.




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