President Donald Trump has signed a brand new cybersecurity government order that, in keeping with the White Home, amends problematic parts of government orders from the Biden and Obama administrations.
Government Order 14306 goals to enhance software program improvement, border gateway (BGP) safety, post-quantum cryptography (PQC), AI safety, IoT safety, encryption, and sanctions, in addition to to forestall the abuse of digital identities.
It targets EO 14144 — signed by Biden in January 2025 — eradicating a piece that encourages the acceptance of digital identification paperwork, over fraud issues.
For software program safety, the Biden EO mandated attestations for federal contractors, which the brand new EO removes. Within the case of PQC, the Trump EO simplifies the implementation roadmap.
The brand new government order additionally targets EO 13694, which Obama signed again in 2015 to allow authorities to sanction entities that conduct cyberattacks in opposition to the US. Trump and Biden had prolonged that order, however the president has now modified the phrasing to permit sanctions solely in opposition to international individuals moderately than any particular person.
Some professionals have pointed to the adjustments they see as being good for the business, whereas others say they don’t agree with the modifications, or highlighted some vital points that must be thought of.
Dave Gerry, CEO, Bugcrowd:
“This order walks away from vital classes. Rolling again safe by design software program attestations and limiting sanctions to solely international actors sends the incorrect message on the incorrect time. These had been put in place to cut back danger throughout the availability chain. Additionally, narrowing sanctions to solely apply to international actors leaves a transparent hole, particularly after we’ve seen home enablers working in lockstep with international adversaries.
The shift towards voluntary steerage sounds good, nevertheless, in apply it usually means slower adoption and fewer safeguards. It’s laborious to see how this makes us safer. Cybersecurity needs to be a nonpartisan dedication to nationwide resilience – not a political bargaining chip.”Commercial. Scroll to proceed studying.
Tim Mackey, Head of Software program Provide Chain Danger Technique, Black Duck:
“With the manager actions that passed off early within the present administration, it was notable that the cybersecurity government orders from the earlier administration had been left untouched. With EO 14306, the present administration reverses the software program attestation necessities established in OMB memo M-23-16 which was licensed beneath EO14028. By modifying EO 14144, which was an extension of EO 14028 and constructed upon classes learnt in business, this successfully limits the impression of EO 14028.
What we should always anticipate to see is a extra prescriptive set of steerage paperwork from NIST in 2025; together with up to date safe software program improvement framework (SSDF). By establishing a consortium with business on the NCCoE, this government order indicators a want by the administration to collaborate with business on advancing the nation’s cybersecurity expertise and competencies. With a give attention to NIST publications SP800-218 and SP800-53, the administration acknowledges that deploying safe software program begins throughout improvement following safe by design ideas, and in the end cybersecurity success is predicated on securely deploying that software program following a safe by default mannequin. Lastly, EO 14306 acknowledges each the contributions open-source applied sciences carry to American innovation, but in addition the distinctive dangers they pose.”
Dustin Lehr, Utility Safety Advocate, Safety Journey:
“President Trump’s government order marks a pivotal shift in nationwide cybersecurity technique because it locations safe software program improvement entrance and middle. By directing NIST to replace the Safe Software program Growth Framework (SSDF) and tasking a brand new business consortium with implementation steerage, the order acknowledges a tough reality: safe software program have to be a foundational design precept, not an afterthought. Lengthy-term, this coverage may reshape federal procurement expectations, encourage stronger software program legal responsibility norms, and ship a transparent sign that provable safe improvement practices at the moment are desk stakes, not differentiators.
Innovation, whether or not it’s a brand new product characteristic or a breakthrough know-how like AI, solely succeeds when individuals belief that the programs behind it are constructed with high quality and safety in thoughts from the beginning. That belief isn’t only a safeguard in opposition to enterprise danger; it’s additionally a wise funding that drives productiveness. Fixing flaws late within the improvement cycle is considerably dearer than addressing them early, which is why common, sensible training in engineering finest practices and safe coding are important to assembly the intent of this government order. When high quality is handled as a proactive a part of improvement, and never a last-minute checkbox, it strengthens resilience, reduces breach-related prices, and accelerates the tempo of secure, sustainable innovation.”
Nathan Jones, VP of Public Sector, Sonar:
“Even with new compliance necessities from the Government Order, the basic risk panorama stays the identical. Businesses nonetheless bear the unchanged accountability of safeguarding their mission and information. The neatest federal CIOs and CISOs will, and should, proceed to demand a excessive customary from their software program companions.
Particularly, there needs to be a continued demand for transparency from distributors. Ask for SBOMs; ask them to attest to their safe improvement practices. Probably the most accountable distributors could have no drawback offering this. SBOMs and SSDF processes are nonetheless instruments and vital for businesses to get ATOs (Authorization to Function) for COTS (Industrial Off-The-Shelf) proprietary software program, third-party open supply, or their very own created utility code.
It’s additionally vital to focus inward — you may’t management coverage, however you may management your individual improvement tradition. Embed safety immediately into your improvement course of with a give attention to high quality, and don’t let it’s an afterthought. True safety of software program is a steady apply; artifacts and issues are altering however the principle purpose is to get everybody centered on it being a traditional a part of processes.”
Karl Holmqvist, Founder and CEO, Lastwall:
“The Trump administration’s government order, with its seemingly bureaucratic acceleration of post-quantum cryptography timelines, represents excess of administrative effectivity. It’s a managed detonation of our present safety paradigm.
The arithmetic are unforgiving: each encrypted transaction, each safe communication, each protected database turns into as susceptible as a diary left open on a park bench as soon as a cryptographically related quantum pc emerges. The manager order’s timeline, requiring new safety protocols by 2030, displays a sobering actuality that intelligence communities perceive however not often say publicly: the emergence of a cryptographically-relevant quantum pc (CRQC) just isn’t a query of if, however when. And the “when” seems nearer than most know-how leaders need to admit. The 2030 deadline isn’t arbitrary; it’s a countdown clock.
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The problem going through organizations immediately requires sustaining present safety whereas changing its very foundations on the similar time. The power to quickly replace cryptographic programs—what we name crypto-agility—turns into not only a technical requirement however an existential necessity.
The manager order’s seemingly modest administrative changes masks a profound acknowledgment: the quantum period of cybersecurity has begun in earnest—not in laboratories or educational papers, however in coverage and procurement necessities.”
Ofer Friedman, Digital ID and Id Fraud Professional, AU10TIX:
“The controversy round this government order facilities on the intersection of politics, legislative language, and know-how, with a serious concern being the potential for government-supported entitlement fraud.
From a know-how standpoint, cellular device-based, encrypted digital identification credentials symbolize the present gold customary. Breaking such encryption is taken into account almost inconceivable with out substantial computing energy and specialised experience.
Nonetheless, the transition to cellular encrypted identification credentials may open new avenues for fraud. Hundreds of thousands of individuals might want to migrate from bodily paperwork (plastic playing cards and paper IDs) to digital ones. One main concern is that subtle fraudulent bodily paperwork may slip by means of verification processes, leading to compromised digital identities. One other crucial difficulty is information completeness. What occurs to people whose information are lacking or outdated? These exceptions may symbolize a considerable problem.
Briefly, cellular IDs are technically essentially the most safe choice accessible immediately, however the issuance course of requires cautious planning and safeguards.
On the technical entrance, instruments for multi-layered forgery detection are strong, significantly when case-level analytics are mixed with velocity-based danger detection. So, the hope is {that a} well-designed, end-to-end course of may also help mitigate these legit issues.”
Michael Smith, Discipline CTO, DigiCert:
“Whereas a lot consideration has been paid to the rollback of software program safety attestation and validation necessities within the up to date Government Order, it’s vital to acknowledge that the EO additionally reinforces crucial elements of the NIST Safe Software program Growth Framework (SSDF).
The SSDF continues to emphasise foundational finest practices—reminiscent of software program provenance by means of code signing and danger transparency by means of Software program Payments of Supplies (SBOMs). We’re inspired by the continued relevance and help of those practices, that are very important to nationwide and international cybersecurity resilience.
Moreover, the up to date EO displays a optimistic shift in tone on BGP safety—from philosophical encouragement to pragmatic steerage. This transfer indicators significant progress towards bettering the resilience of web infrastructure by offering clearer expectations and actionable course for implementation.”
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