The 35-page memo released this week also discusses forging international partnerships as the administration seeks to defend the nation’s cybersecurity.
The strategy comes as cyber threats continue to evolve and as ransomware attacks have surged in recent years, particularly targeting critical sectors like the health care industry. Officials have also sought to shore up cyber defenses for infrastructure sectors like energy, food and transportation, among others.
During a briefing call to reporters, Anne Neuberger, White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said the administration has declared ransomware “a threat to national security rather than just a criminal challenge.”
The administration also noted that it will rebalance the responsibility to defend the nation’s cybersecurity away from individuals, small businesses and local governments to “organizations that are most capable and best-positioned to reduce risks for all of us.”
“We ask individuals, small businesses and local governments to shoulder a significant burden for defending us all,” said Kemba Walden, the acting National Cyber Director. “This isn’t just unfair, it’s ineffective.”
Lawmakers were quick to praise the administration’s newly released strategy, with Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) saying it championed “best practices” in the cyber space.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said in a statement that the strategy “clearly lays out the case for a more robust and engaged approach to defending our national critical infrastructure from a growing list of cyber threats.”
A Biden administration official said that in the coming months they will release an implementation plan for the goals the strategy lays out.
