The State Department wants to hear from the tech sector
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As the Biden administration expands its cybersecurity agenda, the State Department has been playing a more active role in bringing the private sector along for the ride.
Why it matters: Cyber diplomacy has been a major priority at the State Department during the Biden administration as nation-state hackers target U.S. critical infrastructure and criminal gangs recruit hackers from across borders.
The big picture: Compared to other U.S. cyber offices, the State Department is early in crystalizing its private sector engagement, a top official tells Axios.
- The department has been working on cyber diplomacy issues since at least 2011, including issues like creating norms around how nation-states safeguard hacking threats.
- Those efforts escalated roughly two years ago when the department created a new cyber diplomacy bureau.
Between the lines: Collaborating with the private sector is a major part of the State Department's new international cyber strategy, which debuted at the RSA Conference last month.
- In the strategy, the department says it needs to lean on the private sector to understand the nuances of international tech regulations and to expand internet connectivity around the world.
What they're saying: "It's a tired term, but it is a 'team sport,'" Liesyl Franz, deputy assistant secretary for international cyberspace security, told Axios during an interview at the RSA Conference. "We don't want to be either developing or reflecting [our] policies without having the input and experience of our stakeholders in their efforts around the world."
Zoom in: The State Department has long collaborated with the private sector. But the goal now is to figure out how to better streamline all of this work, Franz told Axios.
- State will often tap private sector representatives to join official U.S. delegations at key international meetings or to bring along a company expert to meetings with allied nations to trade cyber threat intelligence.
- State consulted many stakeholders, including private sector representatives, on the tenants of the international cyber strategy.
- "We're really just trying to make that [work] more knowable to the private sector community," Franz said.
Yes, but: State's priorities could change depending on the outcome of the November presidential election.
- The department closed the cyber coordinator office during the first year of the Trump administration — and then pitched creating a whole new cyber diplomacy bureau a year later.
What's next: The department is currently figuring out how to allocate a new $50 million fund — included in the government funding bill the president signed in March — designed to help allied nations respond to hacks and expand internet access.
- The money could go to a range of issues and stakeholders for a variety of projects — such as providing emergency aid after a cyber-related incident or helping to promote Western telecom equipment around the world.
- However, some experts have noted that $50 million is just a drop in the bucket of what the State Department needs for such an undertaking.
- "If we can craft the projects in a way that has short-term impact and long-term viability, then it will be obvious what more is needed and for what and how much," Franz said.
