The top U.S. telecom regulator on Thursday told communications companies to take the lead in fortifying their networks against cyberattacks, saying they can do more to bolster security short of new government regulations.
In his first major speech devoted fully to cybersecurity, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler urged the private sector to “step up to assume new responsibility and market accountability for managing cyber risks” before the FCC weighs a regulatory approach to the problem.
“The private sector-led effort must be more dynamic than traditional regulation and more measurably effective than blindly trusting the market or voluntary best practices to defend our country,” Wheeler said in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute think tank.
“We believe in a new regulatory paradigm where the commission relies on industry and the market first while preserving other options if that approach is unsuccessful.”