Cybersecurity has been a hot topic in America over the past year. With more and more hacks going public, what role does the government play in creating regulation? Megan Stifel, Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council and former Cybersecurity Policy Adviser at the White House National Security Council joins Cheddar to discuss the relationship between Washington DC and cybersecurity. In her experience, Stifel says the government's effort to create regulations hasn't gone according to plan. She believes it's better suited to act as a convener, not as the end-all-be-all of regulation. The government can require that standards exist within industries, but shouldn't be setting the specific standards themselves. Plus, 240 bills and resolutions related to cybersecurity were introduced across 42 states in 2017. So will the states have a major influence on the government's regulation decisions? Stifel says it's likely we'll see federal data breach requirements coming out of the sitting congress in the next year or so. Overall though, she says there is a shortage in cybersecurity experts and more research needs to go into this sector.
