On Thursday President Trump signed an executive order to bolster the government’s cyber security and protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks

(WASHINGTON, DC) The order seeks to improve the often-maligned network security of U.S. government agencies, from which foreign governments and other hackers have pilfered millions of personal records and other forms of sensitive data in recent years.

The White House said the order also aimed to enhance protection of infrastructure such as the energy grid and financial sector from sophisticated attacks that officials have warned could pose a national security threat or cripple parts of the economy.

The directive, which drew largely favorable reviews from cyber experts and industry groups, also lays out goals to develop a more robust cyber deterrence strategy, in part by forging strong cooperation with U.S. allies in cyberspace.

White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said the order sought to build on efforts undertaken by the former Obama administration.

Among the notable changes, heads of federal agencies must use a framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to assess and manage cyber risk, and prepare a report within 90 days documenting how they will implement it.

Government agencies would now “practice what they preach,” Bossert told reporters during a White House briefing. “A lot of progress was made in the last administration, but not nearly enough.”

The order calls for an examination of the impact of moving agencies toward a shared information technology environment, such as through cloud computing services. It also urges voluntary cooperation with the private sector to develop better strategies to fend off and reduce attacks from botnets, or networks of infected devices.

Trump nearly signed a cyber security measure just days into his presidency in January, but it was pulled back to allow for more input from federal agencies and consultation with experts.

Bossert said Russia’s alleged hacks were not a motivation for the order, adding that “the Russians are not our only adversary on the internet.”

Reuters reporting, TRUNEWS contribution