In a last bit of unfinished business before Joe Biden’s presidency ends, the White House on Thursday announced an executive order meant to bolster US security and sanction authority against China and other alleged cyberattackers of critical infrastructure.
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The new rules included tougher standards to ensure that software is more secure and demand more rigorous verification and evaluation procedures, according to Anne Neuberger, cyber and emerging technology deputy at the National Security Council.
“We’ve spent the last seven months carefully reviewing each hacking incident to check exactly how the Chinese, other governments and criminals got through the gates,” Neuberger said.
“If an entity is conducting disruptive attacks against critical infrastructure, we will come after them. We can sanction them and use that tool, particularly around the world.”
The senior official singled out Beijing’s suspected hacking of Treasury Department servers and Microsoft cloud accounts along with Russian and criminal ransomware attacks on energy, healthcare, banking and other essential infrastructure.
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