Industry Cyber Board Expects to Deliver White House Report in November

An industry-led cyber advisory board expects to deliver a final report to President Donald Trump in mid-November establishing cybersecurity as a “national strategic imperative,” officials said Wednesday. The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is finalizing its Cybersecurity Moonshot study, members said during a conference call.

NSTAC’s intention with the Moonshot study is to “fundamentally reset the security of our digital landscape within a decade,” said board documents. The board backs harnessing collective resources from government, industry and academia, with a focus on network design, machine learning, automatic orchestration and quantum computing.

NSTAC Cybersecurity Moonshot Subcommittee member Mark McLaughlin, vice chairman of Palo Alto Networks, said the advisory board expects to vote on approval of the final report by Nov. 14. Federal Chief Information Security Officer Grant Schneider said the administration recognizes the need for strong partnerships among government, industry and U.S. citizens to address cybersecurity issues.

Department of Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate Undersecretary Christopher Krebs discussed the agency’s recent National Cybersecurity Summit, where Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen unveiled DHS’ National Risk Management Center (see 1808140026). The NRMC is a good example of government-industry collaboration, Krebs said, calling its creation a government response to industry requests. He distinguished the center’s functions from DHS’ National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, which he said will continue 24/7 information sharing efforts. The new facility will focus on longer-term strategic issues, will be stakeholder driven and will help develop an agenda with industry, Krebs said. NSTAC efforts will let government to determine what secure communications networks will look like for the next 10-15 years, he said.

McLaughlin said Moonshot provides a fundamentally different approach to cybersecurity that must be catalyzed at the highest levels of government. He applauded Vice President Mike Pence for highlighting Moonshot efforts at the Cybersecurity Summit, where he discussed the White House’s meeting with NSTAC in May. Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, also championed efforts on Cyber Moonshot, McLaughlin said, calling cybersecurity the “challenge of our generation.”

NSTAC Cybersecurity Moonshot Subcommittee member Peter Altabef, CEO of Unisys, said the board received briefings from more than a dozen experts. The final report, he said, will be the beginning of an “iterative” national cybersecurity dialogue. He sought a joint commitment of NSTAC, the federal government and the broader stakeholder community to address growing national security issues.