Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a Wash100 awardee, has detailed new U.S. initiatives to fight the misuse of technology.
During a recent summit in Washington, D.C., Mayorkas stated that the U.S. has launched a new approach to address digital authoritarianism and ensure that technology advances human rights and democracy, according to a DHS release published Thursday.
“We are changing our policies, deepening our collaboration with democratic partners to accelerate our efforts and creating new initiatives to protect vulnerable communities here and abroad,” said Mayorkas.
He noted a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency initiative that seeks to strengthen cybersecurity of U.S. civil society organizations and other communities facing increased risk of transnational repression as a part of the strategy.
In support of CISA’s High Risk Community Protection Initiative, the U.S. and the U.K. will co-host a strategic dialogue to facilitate information sharing on transnational repression-related threats facing high-risk communities, enhance the cybersecurity of civil society organizations and identify collaboration opportunities.
CISA expects the first meeting to occur in the coming months with the participation of the agency’s counterparts from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K.
