Trump Cybersecurity Executive Order: What To Expect After President Meets With Giuliani, Other Experts

President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday pertaining to cyber security. The White House canceled the signing and postponed it until later this week, but a draft of the order has circulated that may reveal some of what the prospective executive order will include.

According to a version of the order obtained by the Washington Post, the document will call for a review of cyber capabilities and vulnerabilities throughout the federal government.

Titled “Strengthening U.S. Cyber Security and Capabilities,” the order calls for several assessments as to the state of U.S. cybersecurity systems. The reviews are set to take place in 60- and 100-day periods and will aim to identify of areas of improvement.

An initial 60-day review will seek initial recommendations for the securing of “national security systems” and critical infrastructure, while also calling for a review of malicious actors and the creation of a list of “principal cyber adversaries.”

The order also seeks an assessment on of threats and vulnerabilities of new systems required by the government, as well as recommendations on how to “incentivize private sector adoption of effective cyber security measures” within 100 days of the order’s signing.

In a press briefing held on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer described the intent of the order’s intent to “secure the federal networks we operate on behalf of the American people, work with industry to protect critical infrastructure and maintain our way of life, and advance the cause of internet freedom,” though no other details were provided.

President Trump met with a number of what the White House called “cybersecurity experts”—a group that included former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

The draft of the order, which mirrors the 60-day review issued by President Barack Obama shortly after assuming office, has garnered support—or at least not generated criticism—from former members of the Obama administration.

According to a report from CyberScoop, former senior director for cybersecurity in the White House’s National Security Council Ari Schwartz said the draft showed “the Trump administration is taking cybersecurity seriously and making it a priority.”

It’s worth noting the 60-day evaluation ordered by President Obama did not go as expected. His issued cybersecurity review ended up taking twice as long, requiring 120 days to complete.

The committee in charge of Trump’s review will be headed up by Defense Secretary James Mattis. He will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly, the yet-to-be confirmed Director of National Intelligence, national security advisor Michael Flynn, and homeland security and terrorism advisor Thomas Bossert.

There is no mention of the FBI in the order, marking a break from the Obama era cybersecurity efforts that regularly included the bureau in such matters. A policy directive issued by President Obama in 2016 explicitly made the FBI an integral part of cyber incident coordination.

The role of the FBI, as well as other parts of the order, are subject to change between the draft and the final document signed by President Trump. Given the delay from the expected signing on Tuesday, changes may be coming. It was already noted another version of the executive order does not create the 60-day review on cyber adversaries.