Biden adds Mandia and other cybersecurity execs to advisory committee

President Joe Biden added several cybersecurity executives to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), which advises the White House on national security issues and emergency preparedness.

Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia, Rapid7 CEO Corey Thomas and Trellix CEO Bryan Palma were added to the committee alongside several other cybersecurity executives, including Microsoft Vice President of Security Policy Scott Charney, Comcast CISO Noopur Davis and Cox Communications CISO Kimberly Keever.

Charney was appointed to serve as a chair of the committee with former Lumen Technologies CEO Jeffrey Storey working with him as vice chair. 

Created in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan, the NSTAC is composed of up to 30 presidentially appointed senior executives traditonally from the telecommunications industry. In recent years, the committee has played a key role in enhancing internet security.

“These appointees will join previously appointed NSTAC members to provide national security and emergency preparedness solutions by providing innovative policy recommendations backed by a unique industry perspective,” the White House said in a statement.

The committee typically sends detailed reports to the White House on a range of issues connected to technology – most recently publishing a study on the convergence of IT infrastructure and Operational Technology (OT) systems. The report was commissioned following the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. 

They previously have covered topics like the software supply chain, zero trust frameworks and 5G network security. 

The additions are part of a larger push by the Biden administration to shore up the country’s cyber defenses. FedScoop reported on Monday that the White House plans to issue an executive order on data privacy after the State of the Union address on Tuesday. The order will include measures that push all federal agencies to use General Services Administration-backed platform Login.gov as opposed to more controversial options like ID.me. 

The White House is also preparing to publish a 35-page “National Cybersecurity Strategy” that will allegedly make significant changes to how the government approaches cybersecurity. The plan will reportedly institute mandatory cybersecurity rules for U.S. corporations and give law enforcement agencies the green light to take offensive actions against hackers abroad.