This past Friday, President Obama visited Stamford University to speak at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. Along with university students, the crowd included leaders from industries ranging from tech companies and law enforcement to members of our congress.

The president noted that our nation is doing more business than ever recorded in history, and that the online realm is also becoming a popular choice for consumers to pay bills, shop and to manage bank accounts. While these are just a few of the conveniences provided by the Internet, these benefits also come with risks. As a San Diego IT support company, we wanted to share what some of those risks might be and what the President is asking of our nation.

1. Protecting Critical Infrastructure – Obama proclaimed that the government must collaborate with the companies who own critical infrastructure to ensure our nation’s information, programs and databases are safe from cybersecurity threats—both from within our country and internationally. He also initiated setting a list of standards to keep both companies and assets safe from threats.

2. Improve Incident Reporting and Response – The faster our government can learn about cyberattacks, the sooner we can protect our information and prevent future attacks. The government also strives to keep the public informed on these cyberattacks, so other companies and individuals can remain safe from similar attacks.

3. Engage Internationally – There is safety in numbers, and the more allies the United States has, the safer our country will be from cyberattacks. In addition to the national standards of cybersecurity, Obama is trying to create an international standard so we can work together to protect ourselves from possible attackers who have already initiated attacks in other countries. Keeping this communication open between countries would be beneficial to all governments.

4. Secure Federal Networks – Setting goals to achieve security standards and then following up to ensure those goals are consistently met helps to ensure we are staying abreast of possible harmful attacks. The government also wants to keep threat responses timely and efficient. Constantly continuing to enhance technology that could prevent network attacks and threats can also help to keep the country’s information safe.

5. Shape the Future of Cyber Environment – The president not only wants us to be reminded of past attacks and current threats, but he wants us to stay ahead of the curve by looking to the future and anticipating more advanced attackers. By researching and developing new technology and staying abreast of systems and information available to would-be attackers, we can prevent future attacks and make our systems more securely sound.

While the summit garnered interest from some of the top tech names in the industry, setting the right security practices in place is beneficial for businesses of all sizes. To learn more about network security, data recovery and on-site and remote desktop support, call 760-650-3300 and speak with the trusted San Diego IT consulting experts at Syndeo Communications.