Bridging the Trust Gap
The 2023 New York Cyber Task Force Report
Bridging the Trust Gap
The New York Cyber Task Force has spent the last year investigating the private sector’s perspective on the current and future state of operational collaboration, as well as to understand the federal government’s aims and aspirations in improving how industry and government work together.
This third report examines recent high-profile cyber incidents—SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, and Shields Up—to evaluate the private sector’s perspective on operational collaboration. It uses these case studies to examine key gaps and identify points of leverage to improve how the government and industry work together. Over the past year, the NYCTF convened cybersecurity leaders and practitioners and conducted extensive interviews to investigate different perspectives on the case studies and the current and future state of operational collaboration. The task force report provides implementable policy recommendations to improve trust and operational collaboration between industry and government at scale. The report is organized around four key recommendations: improve US government crisis communications and transparency about cyber incidents; create professional incentives and opportunities for collaboration; establish a procedure for incorporating state and local stakeholders into operational collaboration; and establish a joint cyber warning center within the intelligence community.
"Bridging the Trust Gap" was released 20 November, at a public launch event at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs featured a fireside conversation with Colin Ahern, Chief Cyber Officer, New York State, and a panel discussion on the findings from the report.
We are grateful to the NYCTF members for their continuous support, participation, and contributions of expertise and knowledge to help develop insightful findings and actionable recommendations.
We would also like to thank the numerous individuals and organizations we interviewed as part of our research, who were extraordinarily generous with their time and expertise.
The New York Cyber Task Force is grateful for craig newmark philanthropies’ generosity in making this project possible and thanks the Niejelow/Rodin family for their support.
Honorary Chair: Keren Yarhi-Milo, Dean, School of International and Public Affairs; Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations, Columbia University
Executive Director:
Erica Lonergan, Assistant Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Co-Chairs:
Greg Rattray, Co-Founder and Partner, Next Peak
Michael Daniel, President, Cyber Threat Alliance
Jason Healey, Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Project Manager:
Misha Giridhar, Columbia SIPA
New York Cyber Task Force Reports
The New York Cyber Task Force gathered to address how the US government and private sector can enhance cyber readiness through operational collaboration to protect the nation.
The New York Cyber Task Force report released a series of recommendations that would help make it easier to defend cyberspace without sacrificing the utility, flexibility, and convenience that has made the Internet so essential to our economies and personal lives.