National Cyber Director Seeks Input on Software Providers’ Cyber Liabilities

The White House Office of the National Cyber Director is seeking public input on “liability” regimes for holding software companies accountable when they sell technology lacking proper cyber protections, National Cyber Director Larry Coker said Wednesday during ITI’s Intersect event. The Biden administration’s national cybersecurity strategy calls for new liability when software companies “rush insecure code to market,” Coker said. He said his office is working with academic and legal experts exploring “different liability regimes.” The strategy calls for minimizing compliance burdens on companies, so the office is working with other agencies to harmonize requirements through public feedback (see 2311030046). Coker said that in the coming weeks, his office will release a paper that addresses memory safety and software measurability.