The Cyberspace Solarium Commission has released a white paper that offers cybersecurity lessons from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and four new recommendations that are classified into two sections.
The first section suggests the passage of an Internet of Things Security Law and an increase in support to nonprofit organizations that assist law enforcement efforts to counter cyber crime and support victims as two new recommendations to advance the digitization of critical services and support the work-from-home economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
The second section recommends the establishment of the Social Media Data and Threat Analysis Center and an increase in nongovernmental capacity to determine and counter foreign influence and disinformation campaigns. Such recommendations seek to address areas related to leadership and coordination, prevention and mitigation efforts, preparedness and response and recovery capacity.
The document states the COVID-19 pandemic and a cyber attack could be both global in nature and demand a “whole-of-nation response effort.”
“Over the past two decades, the United States has experienced a barrage of cyberattacks that have impacted the national economy, American democracy, and peoples’ daily lives,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin), co-chairs of the commission, wrote in the white paper.
“Although not a cyberattack, the COVID-19 pandemic serves as another warning shot, challenging the resiliency of the nation in new ways and underscoring the urgency with which the United States must improve its capacity to prevent, withstand, and respond to crises regardless of their cause."
