A man holds a laptop computer as a cyber code is projected across him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017 in this illustration picture. REUTERS Kacper Pempel Illustration
The White House will meet executives from leading tech firms, including Alphabet-ownedGoogle GOOGL.O Apple Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com Inc, on Thursday to discuss software security after the United States suffered several major cyberattacks last year.
In December, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan sent a letter to tech firms after discovering a security vulnerability in open-source software called Log 4 j that organizations use to log data in their applications.
In the letter, Sullivan noted that open source software is a key national security concern and is widely used and maintained by volunteers. The White House said Thursday that the meeting, which will be hosted by the deputy national security advisor for cyber emerging technology, Anne Neuberger, will discuss concerns around the security of open-source software and how it can be improved.
Other top tech companies in attendance will be IBM IBM.N Microsoft Corp MSFT.O Meta Platforms Inc FB.O, which owns Facebook and Oracle Corp ORCL.N Government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Commerce Department.
After several major cyberattacks last year, it has been a priority for the Biden administration, which exposed thousands of records held by companies and government agencies to hackers.
The US government has said a hack was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached software made by SolarWinds SWI.N and gave hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used its products. The hackers have access to emails at the U.S. Treasury, Justice and Commerce departments, and other agencies.
The administration imposed an executive order last year that created a review board and new software standards for government agencies because of the increasing frequency and impact of such attacks.