Washington:  US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order, to prevent cyberattacks in US, implementing new policies to improve national cybersecurity.

Admitting that the US is facing persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns that threaten the public sector, the private sector, and ultimately the American people's security and privacy, Biden said on Wednesday that the government must improve its efforts to identify, deter, protect against, detect, and respond to these actions and actors.

The executive order outlines several initiatives, including reducing barriers to information sharing between the government and the private sector, mandating the deployment of multi-factor authentication in the federal government, establishing a cybersecurity Safety Review Board and creating a standardised playbook for responding to "cyber incidents." The executive order was passed after the Colonial Pipeline Company, which is the largest refined-products pipeline in the country, was forced to shut down due to a cybersecurity attack on May 7.

"Protecting our nation from malicious cyber actors requires the Federal Government to partner with the private sector. The private sector must adapt to the continuously changing threat environment, ensure its products are built and operate securely, and partner with the Federal Government to foster a more secure cyberspace," he wrote in the executive order.

The company temporarily halted all pipeline operations after the cybersecurity attack involving ransomware was detected. It has now partially restored the pipeline.

The Colonial Pipeline transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel daily on the East Coast. Biden said that incremental improvements will not give the country the security it needs.

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