The Joint Cyber Defense Collective (JCDC), an initiative established by the US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to build operation plans for protecting and responding to cyber threats, has announced its 2023 Planning Agenda.
The Agenda’s focus is on three key topics: Collective Cyber Response, Systemic Risk, and High-risk Communities. The Collective Cyber Response initiative will update the National Cyber Incident Response Plan in collaboration with the FBI, which will outline roles for non-federal units for incident response. The Systemic Risk initiative will aim to reduce supply chain risk in critical infrastructure, strengthen operational integration and collaboration, and enhance security and resilience. The High-risk Communities initiative will form a cyber defense plan for civil organizations that support journalists and cybersecurity researchers targeted by bad actors in foreign states.
Cybercrime has become a business in itself, with cyber attacks on the rise across all sectors.
To address the pervasive threat landscape, the US government established the CISA in 2018 to protect citizens and businesses. In 2021, the CISA announced the formation of the JCDC, which brings government and private industry representatives together to develop defense plans. The JCDC acknowledges the benefits of collaboration for exigent risks but sees a remaining gap when it comes to imminent risk.
Proactive measures for future cyber risks are being planned by the JCDC.
The JCDC’s Planning Agenda aims to leverage the expertise of public and private sector members to develop and launch defense plans focused on risk reduction. The JCDC admits that the level of proactive planning in their endeavor is new, and the organization has committed to transparency, communication, and being guided by input and feedback from contributing partners.
The JCDC is prioritizing the support of small and midsize critical infrastructure and partnering with governmental and private sector representatives to reduce risk and design a rapid response protocol in case of incidents.
