MIT experts urge Trump administration to take immediate action on cybersecurity
In a world where hackers can sabotage power plants and impact elections, there has never been a more crucial time to examine cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, most of which is privately owned. According to MIT experts, over the last 25 years presidents from both parties have paid lip service to the topic while doing little about it, leading to a series of short-term fixes they liken to a losing game of “Whac-a-Mole.” This scattershot approach, they say, endangers national security. In a new report based on a year of workshops with leaders from industry and government, the MIT team has made a series of recommendations for the Trump administration to develop a coherent cybersecurity plan that coordinates efforts across departments, encourages investment, and removes parts of key infrastructure like the electric grid from the internet. Coming on the heels of a leak of the new administration’s proposed executive order on cybersecurity, the report...