U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is urging financial institutions to develop better protections against cyber-security related thefts, disruptions, and attacks. In a speech Wednesday, he encouraged the financial sector to make use of a new cyber-security framework when evaluating vendors and called upon Congress to help protect firms from liability issues that may arise from sharing security and breach data.
The Treasury Department was involved with the implementation of the 2013 Executive Order 13636, titled “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cyber-security,” and Presidential Policy Directive-21. They led to the creation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, released in February 2014. The framework provides a blueprint that firms and their vendors can use to collaborate with the government, improve the resiliency of their computer systems, and implement cyber-security best practices.
