President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, on the heels of the cyber-attack against Colonial Pipeline Co., which suffered a major ransomware attack late last week that has caused supply chain issues in the Southeast. 

The Order is intended to show that the federal government is taking a leadership role on cybersecurity defense by improving the cyber defense of the government and its subcontractors, including software vendors who do business with the federal government.

The Order requires that all software sold to the federal government follow prescribed cybersecurity standards within nine months and that software developers share their security data publicly.

It also requires the government to deploy encryption and multifactor authentication and establishes a government-wide endpoint detection and response system so federal agencies can share cyber-threat information, and a “playbook” on incident response. Vendors that do business with the federal government are required to report security incidents to the government to increase the availability of threat intelligence.

Photo of Linn Foster Freedman Linn Foster Freedman

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chair’s the firm’s Data Privacy and Security Team. Linn focuses her practice on…

Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity, and complex litigation. She is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Financial Services Cyber-Compliance Team, and chair’s the firm’s Data Privacy and Security Team. Linn focuses her practice on compliance with all state and federal privacy and security laws and regulations. She counsels a range of public and private clients from industries such as construction, education, health care, insurance, manufacturing, real estate, utilities and critical infrastructure, marine and charitable organizations, on state and federal data privacy and security investigations, as well as emergency data breach response and mitigation. Linn is an Adjunct Professor of the Practice of Cybersecurity at Brown University and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law.  Prior to joining the firm, Linn served as assistant attorney general and deputy chief of the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Office for the State of Rhode Island. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law and her B.A., with honors, in American Studies from Newcomb College of Tulane University. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.