The Biden administration has identified cybersecurity and digital threats among its top priorities for national and global security, according to new guidance issued by the White House on March 3.
The Interim National Security Strategic Guidance released by the White House highlights how the United States will engage with the world as it begins to work on a more lasting National Security Strategy.
“I direct departments and agencies to align their actions with this guidance, even as we begin work on a National Security Strategy,” President Joe Biden wrote in the guidance. “We have no time to waste. The simple truth is, America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage.”
According to the guidance, the Biden administration aims to use emerging technology to boost security, economic competitiveness, and values. The guidance states that “we will make cybersecurity a top priority, strengthening our capability, readiness, and resilience in cyberspace.”
Further, the administration said it would renew the United States’ commitment to engaging with international allies on cyber issues, and hold threat actors accountable for “destructive, disruptive, or otherwise destabilizing malicious cyber activity.”
The guidance also mentions China’s threat to the United States as it relates to cyber theft and economic competitiveness.
“We will confront unfair and illegal trade practices, cyber theft, and coercive economic practices that hurt American workers, undercut our advanced and emerging technologies, and seek to erode our strategic advantage and national competitiveness,” the strategy states. “We will ensure that our supply chains for critical national security technologies and medical supplies are secure.”
