Cybersecurity forum addresses risk assessment and management

The Cybersecurity Forum for Independent and Executive Branch Regulators met on Wednesday to discuss proactive risk assessment and management, the first of four topics the group will tackle in an effort to strengthen the private sector’s cybersecurity.

The forum, which includes officials from 13 government agencies and insurance regulators, focused on building cybersecurity into private business’ operations from the outset. Members also called attention to the innate vulnerability that comes in dealing with vendors, suppliers and business partners, while Presidential Special Assistant and Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel updated them on the forum’s administration activities.

In January, the Federal Communications Commission hosted a one-day workshop for the forum aimed at giving its members cyber risk management strategies, which included full integration of the cybersecurity measures. The forum’s conclusions will be used to incorporate cyber risk management into the operations of businesses under their prevue.

In the fall of 2014, the forum was tasked with evaluating four aspects of cybersecurity, of which proactive risk assessment and management was the first. The next topic to be examined is information sharing, which members will immediately begin to look into. Following that, they will examine voluntary approaches and regulatory approaches.