Release Date: February 9, 2016
Contact: Liz Pierce, 212.313.1173,  [email protected]   

 SIFMA Commends Obama Administration’s New Cybersecurity Action Plan

Washington, D.C., February 9, 2016 – SIFMA today released the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO, after the Obama Administration announced a new Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) that aims to enhance cybersecurity practices across the federal government:  

“SIFMA commends the Obama Administration for its work to enhance our nation’s cybersecurity. Cyber attacks targeting the United States, its critical infrastructure and its citizens are increasing in frequency and sophistication. The Cybersecurity National Action Plan could build upon the important principles outlined in the Cybersecurity Act passed by Congress in 2015 and help ensure the government has the right tools in place to improve cyber defenses as these threats continue to evolve.   

“The establishment of a bipartisan commission of thought leaders to recommend cybersecurity best practices will encourage a united front and meeting of the minds that will benefit national security. Additionally, the development of a privacy council to establish standards for how the government protects Americans’ sensitive information is another welcome step forward, as the financial services industry shares the government’s goal of protecting our clients private financial data. We support the CNAP’s effort to promote coordination of privacy policies across the federal government and strongly believe this principle should also be applied to cybersecurity  regulatory guidance to avoid duplicative or conflicting rules that would be counterproductive to the collective cyber defense effort.  

“While we welcome the Administration’s new action plan, we know that this action alone is not a panacea for mitigating cyber threats. For our part, the financial services industry continues to dedicate tremendous resources to  help protect the financial system and investors through ongoing exercises and tests, by constantly refining best practices and by promoting voluntary standards and robust information sharing, among other initiatives. Harmonized and coordinated regulatory action is an essential element to success. We look forward to working with the Administration and all of our government partners to enhance cybersecurity protections.”