i2Coalition Joins Letter to U.S. Executive Branch Recommending Steps to Reduce Cybersecurity Risks

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition has joined a letter from several technology trade associations to Executive Branch leaders in the U.S. government offering detailed recommendations on reducing federal cybersecurity risk in the wake of the Cyber Safety Review Board’s (CSRB) review of the summer 2023 Microsoft Exchange Online intrusion. 

Beyond steps to improve and strengthen an individual company’s cybersecurity culture, there is also a broader lesson here about vendor diversity and the federal procurement process itself.

The recommendations in the letter below are designed to help provide a framework for federal agencies to improve the resilience of networks and systems. The letter reads in part, “Many see a software concentration risk among public-sector organizations around the world stemming from the use of the same vendor for operating systems, email, office software, and security tooling. This approach raises the risk of a single breach undermining an entire technology ecosystem.” 

It continues: “A multi-vendor approach to the security of government networks…would help to ensure that products with poor security are no longer acceptable within federal government systems.”

The essence of this letter’s recommendations are:

1. Assess software concentration risk
2. Review past security performance in the procurement process
3. Switch to a multi-vendor environment

This letter is also signed by:

• Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)
• Coalition for Fair Software Licensing (CFSL)
• Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
• NetChoice

You can read the full letter here:

Industry Cybersecurity Letter to Executive Branch - June 12 2024

 

About the i2Coalition

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (“i2Coalition”) ensures that those who build the infrastructure of the Internet have a voice in public policy. With more than 100 member brands, we are a leading voice for web hosting companies, data centers, domain registrars and registries, cloud infrastructure providers, managed services providers, and related tech. We protect innovation and the continued growth of the Internet’s infrastructure which is essential to the global economy. 

For more in-depth updates on Internet policy, including issues that impact your Internet infrastructure organization, please contact us about joining the i2Coalition.