Cybersecurity – A Matter of National Security

This month’s passing of the recent COVID-19 relief Bill includes funding to address cyber threats and a spike in security issues stemming from the pandemic. As we know, when a topic becomes divisive or political regardless of party lines, this can lead to a good thing for everyone. Emphasis on cybersecurity and protecting individual privacy and rights is essential. But doing the same for sensitive government data is imperative for all of us and our nation’s collective good.

When something becomes commonplace, like data breaches, two things tend to happen. One, which is positive, is that awareness increases. However, on the flip side, a negative outgrowth is that with increased awareness comes a tendency to dismiss the need to act fast. We don’t want to become complacent with the mindset of I’ll get to it when I can after learning that our data has been compromised in a security incident. When the government emphasizes something, it should pique our interest. It should become part of our dialogue. We should have increased awareness of how critical it is and take it seriously.

As of this writing, the Bill’s funding will include nearly $2 billion. Half will go to the General Service Administration’s Technology Modernization Fund, which helps the federal government launch new information and cyber technology programs. $650 million will fund the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to increase its risk mitigation services. Likewise, $200 million will go to the U.S. Digital Service. Our government created the U.S. Digital Service so technologists could work alongside civil servants to build better tools for Americans.

The substantial funding and the spotlight shining on cybersecurity at the government level now comes after the attack last year, known as the SolarWinds hack, one of the largest in U.S. history. Russian hackers were most likely the masterminds behind this cyberespionage incident. Unfortunately, they compromised 100 private sector companies and at least nine federal agencies. This is a significant cause for alarm.

With such serious hacks happening and directly impacting our nation, we must act now. Fortunately, we now have funding allocated to address this threat. So, with this package and future directives that will inevitably come, we can all breathe a sigh of cyber relief – for now. But, if you’re still concerned about how you can best protect your business’ data, contact Athreon. Athreon specializes in small business cyber security and can help you make sure that you’re taking all the steps necessary to protect your data and assets.