Tech

Biden, Big Tech Pledge Massive Investment To Address ‘Root Causes’ Of Cyberattacks

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Ailan Evans Deputy Editor
Font Size:

President Joe Biden and executives from major tech companies and financial institutions announced several massive investments designed to improve U.S. cyber defense following a meeting Wednesday.

The meeting included Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, and Google parent company Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, along with executives from IBM, J.P. Morgan Chase and energy firm Southern Co. The executives, along with cabinet officials, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, discussed how private sector and government agencies could work together to improve nationwide cyber defense.

In his opening remarks, Biden stressed the importance of private companies collaborating with the federal government to defend against cyber threats, and urged the companies to improve their cybersecurity.

“The reality is, most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government can’t meet this challenge alone,” Biden said. “I’ve invited you all here today because you have the power and the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.”

The primary purpose of the meeting was to address “the root causes of any kind of malicious cyber activity,” senior administration officials said at a briefing announcing the meeting. The officials said private companies would take “concrete steps” to beef up their cybersecurity.

Following the meeting, Google announced it was committing $10 billion to improve its cybersecurity, including expanding its zero-trust computing programs and enhancing the security of open-source software used by many federal agencies and companies. The company also said it would help 100,000 Americans earn certifications in fields such as information technology and data analytics.

Microsoft said it will invest $20 billion over the next five years to improve its cybersecurity standards, $150 million of which will help local, state and federal governments maintain their cyber defense systems, according to a White House announcement. The company was itself the victim of a cyber attack earlier this year when its Exchange email service was allegedly breached by Chinese-sponsored hackers.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting about cybersecurity in the East Room of the White House on August 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting about cybersecurity in the East Room of the White House on August 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Amazon announced it will give its Amazon Web Services customers free multi-factor authorization tools as well as free cybersecurity training materials, while IBM said it would help 150,000 people over the next three years learn cybersecurity skills, according to the White House. Apple said it would work with its suppliers to implement security measures and improve responses to cyber threats.

The Biden administration also announced a partnership with private companies to set security standards for the supply chain. (RELATED: Declassified Report Reveals Chinese Hackers Gained Access To US Pipeline Systems 10 Years Ago)

Biden passed an executive order on cybersecurity in May, which instructed the government to only procure tech products that met certain cybersecurity standards and required critical infrastructure companies to report cyber attacks to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. He also undertook a 100-day initiative through the Department of Energy that improved cybersecurity standards across the electric grid.

The Biden administration has made cybersecurity a priority following a string of ransomware attacks that affected major businesses and critical infrastructure earlier this year.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel