Technology
The Biden Transition Team has been forced to develop its own cyber security defenses
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to take over President Donald Trump, but his transition team is not having the amount of cyber security assistance normally offered by outgoing administrations, according to The Wall Street Journal. This may mean that the Biden team became more vulnerable to cyber threats than if it had the full support and funding of the federal government.
Usually, a leaving president will assist the transition team with tasks like setting up government email accounts and ensuring that those accounts are secured, notes The Wall Street Journal. But the Trump administration has prevented the federal government from delivering any assistance, forcing the Biden Transition Team to take care of their own cyber security.
The team uses a paying Google Workspace network, and all accounts are registered in both Google's Advanced Security Service and Google's Improved Protection Program, the transformation team tells The Verge.
Both workers are expected to use physical identification keys to log in to accounts that will enhance security. Information is maintained on shared drives with minimal access. Staff have been briefed on best practices in the area of defense.
We are planning to rule through a global pandemic and economic crisis, all while operating remotely, said the transition official. From the start of the transition, we have invested in best-in-class IT systems and processes.
A White House spokesperson said that the Trump administration follows all statutory requirements but did not clarify what those requirements were.
Though the presidential election was famously called for by Joe Biden on November 7th, Trump has not yet conceded. And his government is not just blocking cyber defense transfer efforts. It also continues federal preparations for the COVID-19 vaccine, an initiative that has increased urgency after positive findings from vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna.
