President Biden Prioritizes

Cybersecurity Measures

During the last few months, President Biden and his administration have prioritized cybersecurity measures for critical infrastructure. In May, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to implement procedures to improve capital infrastructure and encourage the private sector to do the same.

The order established a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board to create guidelines for responding to cyber incidents and establish standards for developers of software sold to the government. The Executive Order was followed up by a Presidential memorandum for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems to facilitate the deployment of

threat visibility technology.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also involved in securing critical infrastructure through a key initiative to oversee the process of replacing equipment manufactured by Huawei installed in communications networks, designed to pose a threat to national security.

Bills that have been introduced in Congress aimed to enhance cybersecurity include the Future Networks Act and the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act.

Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, has also taken a lead role in cybersecurity, urging members to protect their companies and customers by becoming increasingly vigilant to cyber attacks. Being

cyber aware can be as simple as keeping your passwords secure and providing spam emails to your IT department.  NTCA offers numerous resources to members through their cybersecurity webpage.

We are all becoming more and more vulnerable to ransomware attacks.

Last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), issued letters to 197 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winners, identifying potential redundant funding in over 15,000 census blocks. The FCC urged those winners to ensure that any money awarded to them in the RDOF Phase 1 auction would not go toward unnecessary coverage.

Top RDOF winners, including LTD Broadband, Frontier Communications, Windstream and Starry are seeking to relinquish bids without penalty. Collectively, the waiver requests include thousands of census blocks across multiple states.

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FCC Flooded with RDOF Waiver Requirements

The FCC released a report indicating that more than 60 bidding entities have already defaulted on winning bids, covering close to 11,000 census blocks totaling more than $78 million in bids.

According to RDOF rules, operators in default of winning bids are subject to a penalty of $3,000 per violation. The FCC is considering waiving the fee if a company can demonstrate why defaulting on their bids would be in the public's best interest.

The RDOF was a reverse auction designed to award funding to unserved rural areas to the company that committed to deploying service for the lowest level of support.