May 13, 2021

On May 12, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the creation of a commission to review air accidents and the introduction of new software standards for government agencies, following a series of digital attacks that have rocked the country.

The attack on the Colonial Pipeline is the latest in a series of damaging violations of U.S. interests, following a digital blackmail attempt against the Colonial Pipeline, a major fuel transportation company that has caused panic buying and fuel shortages in the southeastern United States.

The President’s order called for the creation of an organization to investigate large-scale hacks, similar to the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into plane crashes, and the introduction of new safety standards for software purchased by government agencies.

The rules – drawn up by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology – are among the most important parts of the order, because they are designed to protect small and medium-sized enterprises.

Other rules imposed by the order require the use of multifactor authentication and the use of encryption for both stored data and communication.

For more information, read the original story in Reuters.