2023 Highlights – Internet Security Alliance

INTERNET SECURITY ALLIANCE (ISA) TOP 25 HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2023

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) names ISA to the “Corporate 100” list of the most influential organizations in corporate governance. This was the third time ISA has been named to this list and is one of only two cybersecurity entities (along with CISA) to be so honored.

Jen Easterly, Director of DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) awards ISA her personal “Challenge Medal” for exemplary work in strengthening the cybersecurity public-private partnership.

SkyTop Media proposes the first regularly scheduled hourlong weekly television program on cybersecurity to be hosted by ISA. The program would be streamed internationally on the Sling Platform. ISA would maintain full content control. Scheduled launch Q1 2024.

Georgetown University Press publishes Fixing American Cybersecurity: Creating a Strategic Public Private Partnership written by a dozen members of the ISA board of directors. CISA Chief-of-Staff Kiersten Todt provides the Forward to the book saying in part that the book “fills a critical strategic important gap in cybersecurity policy.”
The Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, Mark Green (R-TN) personally reaches out to ISA President Clinton to say he has read Fixing American Cybersecurity, and it has convinced him that securing our cyber boarders is “as important as securing the USA’s southern border.”
Chairman Green hosts a bi-partisan private meeting of the Chairs of the various Congressional Committees with jurisdiction over cybersecurity with the purpose of reforming the Congress to enable to creation of more comprehensive cybersecurity policy. ISA is the lead briefer at the meeting. Mr. Green distributed copies of Fixing American Cybersecurity to all the Committee Chairs noting it is “fantastic” and asking the Chairs to find a way to process the reform agenda articulated in the book.
House Homeland Security Chairman Green endorses ISA’s three top legislative priorities, regulatory streamlining, creating a national cybersecurity academy and basing future cyber policy on the development of a comprehensive economic model.
Biden Administration releases a new national cybersecurity strategy which, for the first time, calls for a shift in emphasis to addressing the unbalanced economics of cybersecurity including the development of incentives’ – both longtime ISA policy positions. A dozen international nations embrace this new strategy orientation.
CISA Director Jen Easterly, Chief of Staff Todt, and Chief Technical lead Bob Lord meet with full ISA board to establish a process for working together on the central proposal in the new strategy i.e. shifting the IT economic model to promote security by design/default.
CISA technical team focused on security by design/default holds two private listening sessions with ISA board of directors. Based on these meetings ISA board develops a set of core principles and best practices for security by design/default.
World Economic Forum asks ISA to lead a “spotlight session” on the economics of the new cybersecurity strategy at their annual cybersecurity summit in Geneva Switzerland. The session is based on the principles and practices developed by the ISA board for “secure by design and default.” Although Forum sessions are traditionally by invitation only, the Forum makes an exception in this case and records the session from broad public release.
The President’s National Advisory Commission on Telecommunications and Security (NSTAC) launches a study on the development of incentives to promote long term-investment in cybersecurity. NSTAC asks ISA to brief them on how this can be done.
DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Resilient Investment Planning and Development Working Group (RIPDWG) issues its annual report endorsing ISA’s proposal for CISA to fund the creation of an economic model to guide cybersecurity policy development.
The co-chairs of the President’s NSTAC cybersecurity incentives committee partner with ISA in proposing a panel at the RSA conference to discuss the need to create market incentives for cybersecurity and suggested methods.
ISA, in partnership with the National Association of Corporate Directs (NACD), publishes the fourth edition of the Cyber Risk Handbook for Corporate Boards. The NACD-ISA Handbook is endorsed by DHS’s CISA, the FBI and the US Secrete Service. CISA Director Jen Easterly provides the Forward to the new handbook citing multiple studies documenting its effectiveness and saying in part, “not only is this handbook chick full of useful advice on cybersecurity but more importantly, it works.”
CISA creates a new Special Advisory Committee on Corporate Governance, Chaired by Chief-of-Staff Todt, focused largely on the content of the NACD-ISA handbooks. ISA is their first entity asked to brief the new Committee.
White House Office of the National Cybersecurity Director releases a detailed implementation plan for the new national cyber strategy including multiple ISA priorities. Implementation item 1.1 in the implementation plan is streamlining cyber regulation – a long-time ISA priority.
The Information Technology Coordinating Council (IT SCC) – created under the National Infrastructure Protection Plan asks ISA to lead the sector’s comments on regulatory harmonization under the new national implementation plan.
In their official comments to the White House on implementing the new national cyber strategy the ITSCC and Telecommunications Industry Association embrace ISA’s proposals for greater authority for the OMB to mandate that future cyber regulations are not redundant or n conflict.
ISA board committee conducts study demonstrating that the ISA proposal for a national, virtual cybersecurity academy would not only be cost effective but save the government money while solving the federal governments cyber workforce needs in less than 4 years. White Hose requests briefing on the proposal.
In collaboration with the German Federal Office of Information Security (BSI) ISA produced the second German language adaption of the Cyber Risk Oversight Handbook. BSI invites ISA to a special launch program at Germany’s largest cyber trade show in Frankfurt. ISA hosts BSI’s new President at a dinner with ISA board members and partners in DC.
In partnership with the European Conference of Directors Associations (ecoDa) ISA agrees to create a second pan-European adapted edition of the Cyber risk Oversight Handbook.
Cybersecurity for Business: Ensuring Cyber Risk in NOT Just an IT Issue, written by a dozen ISA board members as a companion book to the Board oversight handbooks which translates the board oversight principles into management level practices is a finalist for the International Book Award in the general business category.
ISA offers course in cyber risk management at the Wharton School Graduate Executive Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania. This is the sixth consecutive year Wharton has asked ISA to provide this course.

INTERNET SECURITY ALLIANCE (ISA) TOP 25 HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2023

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