Biden Cyber Order Adds Teeth to Supply-Chain Software Standards

The Biden administration’s executive order requiring federal software vendors to prove they meet heightened cybersecurity standards could reverberate well beyond the world of contracting and reset security baselines across industries.

Under President Joe Biden’s final executive order on computer network defenses issued Thursday, federal contractors must automate attestations that their security practices meet federal standards, a move that would bring added attention to corporate cyber disclosures. The order, if fully implemented, could force a “paradigm shift” in companies’ minimum security standards, said Caleb Skeath, partner at Covington & Burling LLP.

The order, released days before president-elect Donald Trump’s ...