WASHINGTON – February 12, 2018 – BSA | The Software Alliance provided comments today to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) aimed at emphasizing software security in the Administration’s approach to promoting stakeholder action against botnets and other automated threats. The comments were in response to the NTIA’s request for feedback on a draft interagency report to the President on “Enhancing the Resilience of the Internet and Communications Ecosystems Against Botnets and Other Automated, Distributed Threats.”

In the comments, BSA welcomed the report’s emphasis on integrating security into software development processes and educating consumers on cybersecurity. BSA also recommended that the report should work to develop more sophisticated, risk-informed policy foundations for approaching “Internet of Things” (IoT) cybersecurity, and called for greater emphasis on building the cybersecurity workforce. BSA commends the NTIA and other agencies for a thoughtful, holistic examination of the botnet threat and the future of IoT security, and appreciates the Administration’s leadership in addressing this growing issue.