US President signed cybersecurity executive order

US President Trump signed the executive order aimed to strengthen the security of federal government institutions. The key part of the plan demands moving government services to a cloud, which should be implemented under the coordination of the director of the newly established American Technology Council of the White House. The executive order also calls the agencies to implement a set of best practices in cybersecurity developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology – known as NIST Framework – which has been praised globally and implemented by many industries, yet government institutions seem to have lagged behind. In addition, the Cabinet secretaries are requested to develop plans for protecting critical infrastructure. The voluntary anti-botnet campaign is also planned, involving industry to take actions to minimize DDoS attacks. During a briefing in White House, Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert commented that the plans build on the efforts of the Obama administration in the same direction, and informed that the Trump’s budget blueprint sets aside USD 1.5 billion for cybersecurity. While experts agree that the executive order will likely strengthen national cybersecurity, some like Drew Mitnick from the Access Now organisation express disappointment that it doesn’t address some of the key security concerns like the security of Internet of Things devices, data breaches, or responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities.