The Department of Homeland Security’s new technology supply chain task force met Wednesday to discuss recommendations for improved risk management practices that will be included in a public report set to be released by the end of the summer.
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force unanimously approved one recommendation for a proposed federal acquisition rule to reduce counterfeit technology by requiring the government to do business with original equipment manufacturers and authorized resellers.
DHS’ new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) oversees the task force, which includes industry officials from companies such as AT&T [T], CenturyLink [CTL] and IBM [IBM], as well as 20 interagency partners from across the government.
“[Wednesday]’s meeting of the full task force was a timely opportunity for the ICT community across government and industry to come together to discuss progress being made at reducing risk to the nation’s ICT supply chains, via enhanced information sharing, better understanding of risks and targeted efforts on the federal and industry side to elevate the level of trust in critical supply chains,” Bob Kolasky, director of CISA’s National Risk Management Center, said in a statement.
The task force’s latest meeting gathered members to provide progress on recommendations that will be included in this summer’s report, which is intended to provide industry and government officials with guidelines for improved information sharing to better manage risks to ICT supply chains.
“The ICT [task force] continues to prove both the necessity and value of public-private collaboration in tackling shared challenges to managing risks to global ICT supply chains,” John Miller, co-chair of the task force, said in a statement. “The task force has emerged as a focal point for driving government-industry teamwork and as a mechanism for providing invaluable private sector expertise to DHS and other federal government stakeholders. DHS should be commended for its foresight in standing up the task force, and industry participants from the IT and communications sectors should be lauded for their tireless work in a voluntary capacity to make the task force a success.”