President Joe Biden is set to have his first high-profile meeting with the heads of some of the world’s biggest tech companies on Wednesday to discuss the nation’s cybersecurity preparedness.
Figures from the the biggest technology companies, like newly minted Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella are on the guest list, the White House has confirmed.
The guest list also includes big players from the financial sector like Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, according to the White House. CEOs and leaders in energy — such as energy firm Southern Company CEO Thomas Fanning — insurance, and education will also attend.
The attendees are all set to attend a series of meetings throughout the day. A senior administration official also said “there will be a set of announcements” made during the meetings “across the key areas, significantly on technology and talent, made by the participants both government and private sector.”
The official added that “in many cases the private sector is better positioned” to take action on cybersecurity than the public sector. The Biden administration is prepared to offer both new incentives and government mandates to ensure that private companies beef up their security, the official added.
The gathering also comes as the Biden administration reportedly pursues investigations of Apple, Google, and Amazon for potential antitrust violations and after repeated criticisms of Big Tech’s role in the spread of disinformation from the president and his team.
Cybersecurity has become a growing concern within the government following the massive hack of government systems, including the Department of Defense, by Russian hackers in December 2020. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in April, and the revelation in July that China-based hackers attacked 23 U.S. pipeline companies from 2011 through 2013, only added to calls for improved cybersecurity at the national level.
Biden and Big Tech
In May, the Colonial Pipeline hack cut off nearly 50% of the fuel capacity for the East Coast, causing shortages in some states as drivers bought up as much gasoline as possible. Following that incident, the president emphasized the need for “greater private-sector investment in cybersecurity.”
Biden is all set to ask the assembled CEOs for that type of investment on Wednesday. But the meeting comes as he and his administration have developed a complicated relationship on many fronts with the tech giants.
On the one hand, the president and his aides have often taken their companies to task for how they operate in their respective industries. In July, Biden said “they’re killing people” when he was asked about his message for platforms like Facebook when it comes to vaccine misinformation. The president later walked back the remarks somewhat but has maintained an aggressive posture towards the industry.
Biden has also staffed his administration with a mix of prominent critics of Big Tech — like the selection of prominent Amazon critic Lina Khan to head the Federal Trade Commission — that seemed to signal his team would take a tough stance towards tech giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple.
On the other hand, Biden has also populated his administration with some veterans of the technology industry as the Wall Street Journal reported in May. And just Monday, The New York Times reported that Apple and Google were urging trade officials in Washington to fight a South Korean bill that could hurt their app store businesses.
‘An ongoing negotiation’
Despite its mixed past with Big Tech, the Biden administration might need tech giants to help shore up the nation against cyberattacks.
High-profile attacks like those on Colonial Pipeline garner international headlines. But apart from those high-profile cases, states and local municipalities have also been inundated by cyberattacks that impact everything from their records to 9-1-1 systems.
What’s more, the attacks can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time, labor, and new equipment to remediate, money that many localities don’t have. Such hacks often stem from outdated software, user error, or poorly configured security systems.
In May, Biden acknowledged that he can’t force private companies to take measures to prevent attacks. But, he added, “It’s becoming clear to everyone that we have to do more than is being done now.”
The Biden administration has proposed nearly $1 billion in grants within the $1 trillion infrastructure bill for cybersecurity improvements for state, local, and tribal governments.
The federal government has also moved forward with new cybersecurity rules for pipeline operators, requiring them to report any cyberattacks on their systems to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and implement means to protect against future cyberattacks.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also made supply chain security a key element of a trip to Asia this week. She announced a new partnership with Singapore to ensure resilient supply chains and held a roundtable event on the issue on Tuesday.
The pandemic has “highlighted the fractures and the failures and the fissures in our systems,” Harris told leaders at the event.
This story was originally published on Aug. 24 and updated on Aug. 25 with new details from the White House.
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Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.
