President Donald Trump will sign the executive order on Friday, rolling back with amendments to the cybersecurity policy set up by his democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
In the White House fact sheet, the administration argues that Biden’s executive order 14144 was signed a few days before the presidency ended – “an attempt to sneak problematic and distracting issues into cybersecurity policy.
Among other things, Biden’s order encouraged agents to “consider accepting digital identity documents” if an ID is required for a public interest program. Trump has hit that part of the order, and the White House now says the approach is putting “a widespread abuse by ensuring illegal immigrants have inappropriate access to public interest.”
However, Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Democratic Defense Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation, said “The stabilization of revoking digital identity obligations prioritizes suspicious immigration benefits over proven cybersecurity benefits.”
With AI, Trump removed Biden’s requirements for using AI to advocate for energy infrastructure, funding a federal research program on AI security, and instructing the Pentagon to “use AI models for cybersecurity.”
The White House explains that the move towards AI is refocusing AI cybersecurity strategies “to identify and manage vulnerabilities rather than censorship.” (Trump’s Silicon Valley allies have repeatedly complained about the threat of AI “censorship.”)
Trump’s order also removed the requirement that agencies begin using quantum-resistant encryption “as soon as possible.” Also, federal contractors have removed the requirement to prove the security of their software. The White House describes these requirements as “a burdensome, unproven, software accounting process that “prioritizes compliance checklists over authentic security investments.”
Going back further, Trump’s executive order abolishes Obama’s policies on sanctions against cybersecurity attacks against the United States. These sanctions are now only applicable to “foreign malicious actors.” The White House says this will prevent “misuse of domestic political enemies” and make it clear that “sanctions do not apply to election-related activities.”