Thursday, February 24, 2022
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released the following statement on the completion of a one-year assessment on the critical supply chains supporting the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. Directed by President Biden as part of the Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains (EO 14017), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security evaluated the current supply chain conditions for select hardware and software products, identified key risks that threaten to disrupt those supply chains, and proposed a strategy to mitigate risk and strengthen supply chain resiliency.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions exposed existing vulnerabilities in both domestic and global ICT supply chains. Over the past 30 years, ICT manufacturing has shifted overseas, which presents challenges for the United States’ supply chain resilience and economic security. In addition, cyber incidents have revealed the capability of malicious actors to stealthily compromise ICT software and hardware products, often undetected.
“To address these challenges, the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security continue to take immediate actions to bolster the U.S. industrial base as part of a whole-of-government approach to protect and strengthen the supply chains that keep our economy running and our communities safe, but the U.S. government alone cannot address these ICT supply chain vulnerabilities. We look forward to working with industry stakeholders, foreign governments, and other domestic and international partners to implement measures identified in the assessment that build resilience and security throughout the ICT supply chain and across our nation.”
Source: Press Release
Office of Public Affairs, publicaffairs@doc.gov
