The Internet Security Alliance, an independent consulting body focusing on cyber security, has issued new guidance on government regulation protecting private enterprises from foreign cyber attacks.
The group cites comments by Departnent of Homeland Security secretary Jeanette Manfra, emphasising that businesses are finding themselves at the front lines in fending off cyber attacks from foreign actors. At Def Con last week, Manfra highlighted that, while both government and the private sector have a common mission of protecting vital infrastructure, they have different reasons to invest in cybersecurity.
“Digitisation has changed everything. It literally is altering our brain chemistry. It obviously is changing the way we think about core ideals like privacy, and it fundamentally is changing — or needs to change – our basic assumptions about national defense,” writes ISA in a blog post Tuesday.
The group pointed to the development of privately owned electric and telecoms services as an example of how government incentives can work to ensure compliance on universally important issues like cybersecurity.
“The policymakers saw that these services — just like cybersecurity — needed to be provided to everyone. So, they made an economic deal — a ‘social contract’ — with the infrastructure owners. If the providers would provide universal service, the policymakers would guarantee the return on the corporate bonds,” according to ISA.
The organisation calls for a similar contract around cybersecurity and data protection.
