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The US Government Is Asking Big Tech to Promise Better Cybersecurity


The Biden administration is asking tech companies to sign a pledge, obtained by WIRED, to improve their digital security, including reduced default password use and improved vulnerability disclosures.

By signing the pledge, companies promise to make a “good-faith effort” to implement seven critical cybersecurity improvements, ranging from soliciting reports of vulnerabilities in their products to expanding the use of multi-factor authentication, a technology that adds an extra login step to the traditional password. The tech industry’s reaction to the pledge—and especially the number of software giants that sign it—will serve as a litmus test for how the private sector views CISA’s continuing push for increased corporate investment in cybersecurity. The Biden administration is using the federal government’s contracting power to set new minimum security standards for the software that agencies buy, with the goal of modeling responsible behavior for the entire industry.

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