Biden Order Will Require New Cybersecurity Standards In Response To SolarWinds Attack

The Biden administration is putting the final touches on an executive order aimed at helping the U.S. defend itself against sophisticated cyberattacks like the one Russian hackers recently leveled against Texas software-maker SolarWinds.

The order, as now written, lays out a series of new requirements for companies that do business with the government. The initiative includes plans for more systematic investigations of cyber events and standards for software development. The idea is to use the federal contracting process to force changes that will eventually trickle down to the rest of the private sector.

"So essentially, federal government procurement allows us to say, 'If you're doing business with the federal government, here's a set of things you need to comply with in order to do business with us,'" Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology at the White House, told NPR in an exclusive interview.

She says the executive order will "set the goal, give it a timeline and then establish the process to work out the details" on a handful of cybersecurity initiatives, from setting up new ways to investigate cyberattacks to developing standards for software.