Trump Administration Revises Cybersecurity Rules, Replaces Biden Order

US President Donald Trump has issued a new cybersecurity-related Executive Order that supersedes or revises previous orders issued by Barack Obama in April 2015 (EO 13694) and Joe Biden in January 2021 (EO 14144).

Notably, the new order limits the application of cyber sanctions only to foreign malicious actors, reversing broader authorities under the previous Biden and Obama policies.

This decision was made in a move to “prevent misuse against domestic political opponents and clarify that sanctions do not apply to election-related activities,” said the White House press release, published on June 6.

The Trump order also removes a list of requirements from Biden’s January 2025 Executive Order (EO 14144), which included a mandate that would have required software vendors to prove compliance with new federal security standards, prioritized research and testing of AI for cyber defense and accelerated the rollout of encryption capable of withstanding future quantum computing threats – also known as post-quantum encryption (PQC).

“Just days before President Trump took office, the Biden Administration attempted to sneak problematic and distracting issues into cybersecurity policy,” the White House said about Biden’s EO in the press release.

Major Biden Cyber Projects Revised

Other notable changes from previous Biden and Obama cybersecurity-related Executive Orders introduced in the Trump order include:

• Eliminating the voluntary cybersecurity certification and labeling program for IoT devices, which was introduced under Biden’s EO 14028 to improve consumer transparency and security standards
• Adjusting or removing certain supply chain security measures implemented under Biden, which were deemed burdensome to businesses, potentially easing restrictions on software and hardware procurement
• Revising or eliminating parts of Biden’s AI cybersecurity guidelines, particularly those linking AI security to broader regulatory frameworks, which could impact AI integration in cyber defense strategies
• Dropping requirements for government agencies to test phishing-resistant authentication

AI Cyber Efforts Focus on Vulnerability Detection

The White House claims the new order aims to support several initiatives aimed at enhancing US cybersecurity, including:

• Advancing secure software development across federal agencies
• Strengthening border gateway security to prevent network hijacking
• Refocusing AI cybersecurity efforts on vulnerability detection rather than censorship
• Establishing machine-readable cybersecurity standards and IoT trust designations for consumer devices
• Establishing machine-readable cybersecurity standards and IoT trust designations for consumer devices

The White House commented: “President Trump has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to make America cyber secure, including focusing relentlessly on technical and organizational professionalism to improve the security and resilience of the nation’s information systems and networks.”