Security News > 2022 > April > US State Department opens cybersecurity policy bureau

The US State Department this week launched an agency responsible for developing online defense and privacy-protection policies and direction as the Biden administration seeks to integrate cybersecurity into America's foreign relations.

"The last few years have made evident how vital cybersecurity and digital policy are to America's national security," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

The CDP includes three policy units that will focus on international cyberspace security policy, international communications and information policy, and digital freedom, which the State Department says includes protecting privacy and information on the internet.

At launch, the new cybersecurity agency has a staff of more than 60 people, mostly from the former Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs' International Communications and Information Policy offices.

The State Department also plans to create more than 30 new full-time positions for the bureau this year, and it requested funding to support additional positions in the FY 2023 budget, a spokesperson said.

This speaks to the importance of Congressional leadership in establishing a more permanent cybersecurity bureau under the State Department, Wenger added.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/04/05/us_cybersecurity_cdp/