On January 16, 2025, former US President Joe Biden issued the “Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” which expands upon the 2021 Executive Order on improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. Biden’s 2025 Executive Order (EO) 14144 aims to bolster the United States’ defenses against evolving cyber threats. This directive addresses vulnerabilities across federal agencies, critical infrastructure, and private sector networks, emphasizing the need for improved accountability, promoting innovation (emerging technologies), and stronger cybersecurity measures.

Key Objectives of the Executive Order

The new Executive Order focuses on several critical areas to strengthen national cybersecurity:

Modernize Federal Cybersecurity Infrastructure

Enhance Public-Private Collaboration and Communications

  • Establish stronger partnerships between federal agencies, private sector companies, and academia to share threat intelligence.
  • Encourage the development of innovative cybersecurity technologies through government funding and grants.

Strengthening Supply Chain Security

  • Implement rigorous security assessments for software and hardware vendors supplying the federal government.
  • Introduced stricter security guidelines for software development, ensuring transparency and resilience against cyber threats.
  • It requires technology contractors to provide evidence of secure software development practices, provide visibility into the software, and make security data publicly available.

Setting a Standard for Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities and Incidents Responses

  • Establish mandatory incident reporting requirements for federal agencies and key industry partners.
  • Strengthen the capabilities of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to coordinate national cybersecurity responses.
  • Enhance forensic analysis capabilities to better understand and mitigate cyber threats.
  • Create a standardized playbook and definitions for cyber vulnerability incident response across federal departments and agencies.
  • Ensure all federal agencies meet a baseline standard and follow uniform procedures for identifying and mitigating threats.
  • Provide a model for private-sector organizations to align their response efforts with federal best practices.
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Integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Cybersecurity

  • Direct research, development, and the responsible use of AI-based cybersecurity technologies and processes to discover vulnerabilities, detect threats, and enable AI security incident and vulnerability reporting.
  • Develop public and private partnerships to leverage AI for the cyber defense of critical infrastructure, such as the energy sector.
  • Establish guidelines to ensure AI technologies are deployed ethically and securely.

Implications for Businesses and Government Agencies

The Executive Order introduces new compliance requirements that will impact organizations working with the federal government:

  • Greater Accountability: Businesses must implement stronger security measures and demonstrate compliance with updated cybersecurity regulations and frameworks.
  • Increased Funding Opportunities: Organizations investing in cybersecurity innovation may benefit from federal grants and contracts.
  • Enhanced Collaboration: Private-sector companies will have increased opportunities to partner with federal agencies in cybersecurity initiatives.

How Should Organizations Align with the EO

To align with the new mandates, organizations should:

  • Adopt Zero-Trust Security Models: Implement continuous authentication and verification measures.
  • Improve Threat Detection Capabilities: Leverage AI-driven security tools for real-time monitoring.
  • Enhance Supply Chain Security: Conduct thorough assessments of software and hardware vendors.
  • Invest in Employee Training: Ensure teams have the latest cybersecurity skills and knowledge.
  • Stay Compliant with New Regulations: Regularly review and update security policies to meet federal standards.

How BigID Can Align Organizations with the Executive Order

BigID’s industry leading platform for data privacy, security, compliance, and AI empowers organizations to meet the stringent requirements outlined in the executive order. By leveraging BigID’s comprehensive data security and compliance solutions, organizations can effectively align with the directives of the executive order, strengthening their cybersecurity posture and promoting innovation in a secure environment.

  • Comprehensive Data Discovery and Classification: Automatically identify and classify sensitive data across all structured and unstructured data sources, both in the cloud and on-prem to understand your data landscape.
  • Data Risk Management: Gain complete visibility and control within your data security and risk reduction program by identifying, prioritizing, and remediating critical data risks and vulnerabilities by severity level according to sensitivity, location, accessibility, and more.
  • Supply Chain Risk Management: Evaluate the security posture of third-party vendors by automating vendor assessments and monitoring to reduce third-party risk and verify that all vendors adhere to security and data protection standards.
  • Advanced Access Management and Data Protection: Automate and streamline access rights management to sensitive and at-risk data across the organization to achieve Zero Trust and mitigate the risk of unwanted data exposure.
  • Breach Investigation & Response: Accelerate breach response by determining impacted users, reducing breach assessment times, containing incidents, and ensuring faster resolution to meet breach notification laws and other regulatory requirements.
  • Regulatory Compliance and Reporting: Generate comprehensive and actionable reports on data risk posture, governance, and compliance, ensuring readiness for stakeholder reviews.

Get a demo to discover how BigID’s AI-driven approach helps agencies optimize data governance, enhance security, and stay ahead of evolving regulatory requirements.