Security News > 2022 > January > Biden signs memo to boost US national security systems’ defenses

President Joe Biden signed a national security memorandum on Wednesday to increase the security of national security systems part of critical US government networks used in military and intelligence activities when storing or transferring classified info.

"Modernizing our cybersecurity defenses and protecting all federal networks is a priority for the Biden Administration, and this National Security Memorandum raises the bar for the cybersecurity of our most sensitive systems," the White House said.

Biden's memo requires federal agencies to report breaches on national security systems to the National Security Agency, the "National Manager" for US government classified systems.

This memo also requires agencies to implement cybersecurity practices such as encryption, multifactor authentication, and cloud technologies and endpoint detection services defense, as required by Biden's 'Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity' issued in May. The President's memo builds on the Biden Admin's work to defend the US from malicious cyber activity linked to both nation-state actors and cybercriminals, including another national security memorandum from July.

"The new authorities will provide us with the necessary cybersecurity visibility into our most important systems," said Rob Joyce, NSA Director of Cybersecurity and Deputy National Manager for national security systems, regarding Wednesday's memorandum.

"This new insight will allow us to identify vulnerabilities, detect malicious threat activity and drive mitigations to better secure all national security systems."

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