Top 3 cybersecurity policy priorities for the Trump administration 

Cybersecurity legislation in this country is currently chaotic and contradictory, making it virtually impossible for businesses to maintain compliance. This regulatory confusion diverts resources away from corporate security efforts and weakens national defenses. To address this challenge effectively, the current administration should focus on three key strategic areas: streamlining regulatory coherence across federal and state levels, deepening public-private partnerships, and harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to enhance cybersecurity. Doing anything less risks undermining national cybersecurity at a critical moment.

First, the regulatory environment for cybersecurity in the U.S. is currently a patchwork of overlapping state and federal guidelines. According to calculations using cybersecurity regulation data from the National Conference of State Legislatures database covering the period from 2014 to 2023, approximately 557 state-level cybersecurity bills were passed, covering several distinct categories ranging from critical infrastructure protection to cyber insurance and social media regulation.

These bills are on top of existing breach notification laws, comprehensive privacy legislation, and evolving AI regulations, each containing data integrity elements. This creates overlaps and potential contradictions with each other and with new cybersecurity bills.

At the national level, multiple agencies—including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—have been involved in cyberspace governance over the past decade, promulgating regulations and generating additional compliance requirements.

This fragmented regulatory landscape inadvertently pushes cybersecurity teams toward a compliance-first approach rather than promoting genuine security innovation and proactive threat mitigation. Imagine a scenario where a single company subject to multiple jurisdictions must navigate conflicting regulatory demands, almost inevitably weakening its overall cybersecurity posture.

To resolve these contradictions, the administration should prioritize establishing clear, unified cybersecurity standards, allowing for tailored approaches within specific sectors when necessary.

While agencies like the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) currently lack sufficient authority to mandate harmonization, the administration can lead by explicitly establishing harmonization as a key expectation, motivating voluntary but meaningful coordination among federal agencies. Practical steps could include convening industry-driven forums that regularly review and propose streamlined, effective cybersecurity practices, thus ensuring industry insights directly inform policy without excessive government mandates.

Achieving coherence also depends heavily on deepening public-private partnerships (P3s). Effective cybersecurity is inherently collaborative; neither industry nor government alone possesses comprehensive visibility into emerging threats and solutions. P3s offer platforms for meaningful information exchange, identification of technological gaps, and co-development of scalable solutions. The CISA already plays a pivotal role here, with strong bipartisan support reinforcing its interactions with industry leaders. Jointly steering research investments into coherent and targeted cybersecurity innovations can ensure alignment in capabilities and priorities. Specific practical measures include incentivizing private sector participation through tax breaks or grants for cybersecurity innovation, establishing joint cybersecurity task forces that are equally represented by government and industry, and promoting transparent and voluntary frameworks for threat information sharing.

Finally, coherence in cybersecurity strategy must extend to integrating advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. 

Cybersecurity professionals today are inundated with threat alerts requiring manual evaluation—a model both unsustainable and inadequate against increasingly sophisticated adversaries. The administration’s recent endorsement of artificial intelligence (AI) through initiatives like the Executive Order on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence signals the recognition of AI’s transformative potential. Now, the focus should shift to the pragmatic integration of AI into security operations centers (SOCs). AI-driven tools can automate routine threat detection tasks, allowing human expertise to concentrate on complex threats that demand nuanced judgment. Practical steps could include creating incentives for industry-led development of AI cybersecurity solutions, supporting pilot projects demonstrating AI efficacy in cybersecurity, and establishing standards for voluntary adoption of AI-driven security solutions. Speeding AI’s deployment will empower American cybersecurity professionals with critical advantages, ensuring they stay ahead in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. However, the administration should remain vigilant regarding the rapidly expanding patchwork of AI regulation at state, federal, and international levels. Navigating and mitigating regulatory complexities will be crucial to ensure that beneficial AI innovation in cybersecurity is not unnecessarily impeded or fragmented.

By strategically focusing on regulatory coherence through voluntary industry alignment, enhanced collaboration through P3s with clear market-based incentives, and proactive adoption of advanced technologies such as AI, the administration can significantly strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity posture while it is undergoing changes in its labor force and leadership.

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