Events , Government , Industry Specific

CISA Wants Everyday Americans to Help 'Secure Our World'

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is calling on everyone from major technology companies to ordinary Americans to take part in securing the nation's digital landscape with a new public service announcement titled "Secure Our World." The message is simple: Citizens, software developers and critical infrastructure sectors alike can all help bolster individual and national cybersecurity through a series of simple best practices, such as maintaining strong passwords, implementing multifactor authentication and reporting ransomware. But across the public and private sectors, organizations and everyday citizens are still struggling to follow basic cyber hygiene.

See Also: The CIS Security Operations Center (SOC)

CISA Assistant Director Alaina Clark said the agency is working to shift the burden of responsibility onto software developers but added that there are plenty of steps citizens can take to secure their own systems and devices.

"It's an enduring program to help educate and raise the awareness of cybersecurity," Clark said about CISA's "Secure Our World" PSA. "It's about empowering individuals to take steps to be more cyber secure."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Clark also discussed:

• CISA's new Secure By Design pledge;
• How citizens can strengthen individual device security;
• How the U.S. cyber defense agency is combating emerging threats.

Clark leads CISA's efforts to promote and deliver strategically aligned stakeholder engagements, helping achieve a secure and resilient infrastructure for the American people. Prior to her work at CISA, Clark served as deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In this position, she managed the day-to-day operations of the IGA state, local and tribal teams.