Trump administration to score agencies on cybersecurity

A White House adviser said that the Trump Administration will develop metrics to track federal agencies’ implementation of a federal cybersecurity framework. Thomas Bossert, an adviser to President Trump on homeland security and counterterrorism, said that the new administration will require agencies and departments to abide by the framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and report back to the White House on their adoption and implementation of the cybersecurity recommendations. The aide said the move is part of a larger effort by President Trump to treat the entire federal network as its own entity and safeguard it from cyber threats.

“We’re going to go through a thoughtful approach that requires federal departments and agencies to adopt and implement cybersecurity framework developed by NIST and any subsequent iteration of that document,” Bossert said. “They’re going to be required to produce for us a report.” The report will be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the White House, and will serve as a “scorecard” to assess agencies’ cybersecurity efforts, Bossert said.