Cybersecurity Roadmap

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) is in the process of developing a Cybersecurity Roadmap to identify vulnerabilities to communications networks or end-users and to develop countermeasures and solutions in preparation for, and response to, cyber threats and attacks in coordination with federal partners. The FCC’s Cybersecurity Roadmap was recommended as an initial step forward in the area of cybersecurity as part of the Commission’s National Broadband Plan (NBP).

Specifically, the NBP recommended that the FCC issue, in coordination with the Executive Branch, a plan to address cybersecurity. The NBP further stated that the roadmap should identify the five most critical cybersecurity threats to the communications infrastructure and its end users and establish a two-year plan, including milestones, for the FCC to address these threats. In making this recommendation, the NBP stated that “[t]he country needs a clear strategy for securing the vital communications networks upon which critical infrastructure and public safety communications rely.”

The Cybersecurity Roadmap will establish a plan for the FCC to address vulnerabilities to core Internet protocols and technologies and threats to end-users, including consumers, business enterprises, including small businesses, public safety and all levels of government. Cybersecurity is a vital topic for the Commission because end-user lack of trust in online experiences will quell demand for broadband services, and unchecked vulnerabilities in the communications infrastructure could threaten life, safety and privacy.