Atlantic Council calls on U.S. gov to strengthen cyber strategy and accelerate quantum tech

The U.S. government and its allies should strengthen their cybersecurity strategy and accelerate the operationalization of quantum technologies, according to a leading D.C. think tank.

In a report published on Wednesday, the Atlantic Council issued recommendations for maintaining the country’s leadership in science and technology, and for preserving the resilience of its physical and IT supply chains.

According to the study, which was conducted by the think tank’s Commission on the Geopolitical Impact of New Technology and Data, the federal government must support technological development across many separate spheres of society.

The Atlantic Council says federal government should offer greater support for technologies that underpin the growth of digital economies, as well as more support for innovation that enlarges the spaces where societies operate, such as sub-sea technology.

The Atlantic Council also recommends additional backing for the development of artificial intelligence.

“The sophisticated, but potentially fragile, data and tech systems that now connect people and nations mean we must incorporate resiliency as a necessary foundational pillar of modern life,” said David Bray, director of the Council’s Geotech Center.

“It is imperative that we promote strategic initiatives that employ data and tech to amplify the ingenuity of people, diversity of talent, strength of democratic values, innovation of companies, and reach of global partnerships,” added Bray, former CIO of the FCC.

The recommendations come after the Biden Administration in March published its interim national security strategic guidance, which identified cybersecurity as a “top priority,” and said it would strengthen the country’s capability, readiness and resilience in cyberspace.

According to the Atlantic Council, a revamped strategy is crucial for the country’s national and economic security, and it must also work to increase trust and confidence in the digital economy.

Federal government concerns over cybersecurity have come to the fore in recent weeks, amid a surge in ransomware attacks on private and public sector entities, including against the recent attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

The U.S. is also racing to build a new generation of supercomputers, supported by federal departments including the Department of Energy. It is hoped that exascale computing will have a key role to play in the future energy security of the country, by allowing more efficient management of the energy grid.

The think tank is also calling for wider federal oversight of supply chain assurance and said more must be done to harden the security of commercial space industry facilities and space assets. The latter recommendations follow a report by NASA’s oversight body earlier this month, which identified major cybersecurity weaknesses at the organization.

The Atlantic Council is an Atlanticist U.S. think tank focused on international affairs, which was founded in 1961.