As America’s cyber defense agency, CISA is charged with defending our nation against ever-evolving cyber threats and to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the cyber and physical infrastructure that Americans rely on every hour of every day. But, as we introduce more unsafe technology to our lives, this has become increasingly difficult. 

As a nation, we have allowed a system where the cybersecurity burden is placed disproportionately on the shoulders of consumers and small organizations and away from the producers of the technology and those developing the products that increasingly run our digital lives. Americans need a new model to address the gaps in cybersecurity—a model where consumers can trust the safety and integrity of the technology that they use every day.

Every technology provider must take ownership at the executive level to ensure their products are secure by design.

What it Means to Be Secure by Design 

Products designed with Secure by Design principles prioritize the security of customers as a core business requirement, rather than merely treating it as a technical feature. During the design phase of a product’s development lifecycle, companies should implement Secure by Design principles to significantly decrease the number of exploitable flaws before introducing them to the market for widespread use or consumption. Out-of-the-box, products should be secure with additional security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), logging, and single sign-on (SSO) available at no extra cost.

Unsafe At Any Speed: CISA's Plan to Foster Tech Ecosystem Security

New to the concept of Secure by Design? CISA Senior Technical Advisors Bob Lord and Jack Cable break down what it means for technology products to be secure by design.