Security News > 2021 > August > Black Hat 2021: New CISA Boss Unveils Anti-Ransomware Collab With Big Tech
Head of the U.S. government's cybersecurity agency Jen Easterly introduced herself to the hacking community Thursday with a pledge to pursue transparent data sharing with the private sector and a call for "An ambitious national effort" to solve the cybersecurity skills shortage.
In a carefully crafted video keynote at the annual Black Hat conference, the CISA director announced a new Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative to bring together federal agencies with big-tech players to manage the barrage of ransomware and supply chain attacks.
The JCDC will initially focus on sharing information and tools to help defenders deal with the ransomware scourge, including creating a planning framework to coordinate incidents affecting cloud service providers.
"My goal is to really help breathe new life into these arguably hackneyed terms, turning public-private partnership into -private operational collaboration. Turn information sharing into something that is timely and relevant," Easterly declared.
Easterly was sworn in as the second Director of CISA less than a month ago and takes over the agency at a time when ransomware attacks are exploding and major supply chain attacks have pushed an aggressive U.S. government response.
The CISA director also used the Black Hat stage to issue a call for students to join the cybersecurity workforce.