From: Stratfor | Worldview
Forecast Highlights
- As computers make their way into more everyday items and tasks, the U.S. government will increasingly turn its attention to developing a strong cyberdefense policy.
- Federal and state agencies will continue their efforts to harden the United States’ networks against cyberattacks.
- The resulting regulations will increase the risk of litigation for private companies and individuals targeted in cyberattacks.
National defense is one of a government’s core responsibilities. The pursuit traditionally has played out on land, over water and, since the 20th century, in air and space. But today, cyberspace is emerging as the latest theater of national defense as governments around the world take more of their critical functions and day-to-day operations online. And the internet is such a recent phenomenon that, unlike the other theaters of defense, it lacks international agreements and institutions to govern it.
At least for now. To address the pitfalls in the current regulatory system (or lack thereof) New York State’s Department of Financial Services will begin enforcing a new set of cybersecurity regulations Aug. 28. Financial services firms in New York by that time will have had 180 days to bring their operations into compliance with the new measures, which first took effect in March. The regulations are broad, requiring companies to have a cybersecurity program with policies on protecting data, restricting access, maintaining awareness of attacks and responding to them — all things that require a chief information security officer to oversee their implementation. By adopting the new rules, the State of New York has joined a growing movement among governmental entities to start holding companies and private citizens more accountable for their own cybersecurity. The wave of regulation promises to usher in a new era in the internet’s development — and in the age-old debate over how far the government should go to advance national security interests.
Leave a Reply