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Q&A

New Episode: Adapting the “Defend Forward” Cyber Policy for Business

Take it from Richard J. Harknett, one of the architects of the U.S. national cyber strategy and its game-changing new take on persistence and proactivity in cyberdefense – “the more cyber secure you are, the more attractive you are up the supply chain.”

Here’s a taste of the episode:

The U.S.’s national “Defend Forward” cyberdefense strategy, officially enshrined just last year, rests on the premise that effective security depends on anticipating how adversaries might try to exploit vulnerabilities – and getting out ahead of them.

The White House and Defense Department have been building out these new forces, and gathering valuable intel on potential cyberattacks for U.S. businesses, but those enterprises need to be ready to act on it, says Richard J. Harknett, an architect of the new policy.

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“When we can give a heads-up on where vulnerabilities are, you can't take five months to decide to patch it, because those are periods of time where you are vulnerable,” he says.

One way businesses themselves can adopt this new proactive, anticipatory mindset is through better practices with their suppliers. “We need larger entities to require better practices below them, and from an economic incentive standpoint, we need those smaller companies to become more secure up and through the supply chain,” he asserts. “Companies that invite partner companies to come into their networks and see that they’re up to the standards needed… make themselves more attractive.”

[LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE: Ep. 22 – Adapting the “Defend Forward” Cyber Policy for Business]

“Companies that invite partner companies to come into their networks and see that they’re up to the standards needed… make themselves more attractive.”
Richard J. Harknett, professor and director, Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy, University of Cincinnati

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