Cybersecurity is national security. State actors, ransomware criminals, and infrastructure attacks escalate every year while our defenses are fragmented across dozens of agencies with no unified strategy. Colonial Pipeline shut down fuel to 17 states. Change Healthcare disrupted a third of all US healthcare claims. This is not hypothetical. This is happening now.
The United States faces escalating cyber threats from nation-state actors, ransomware criminal enterprises, and infrastructure attacks. Current defenses are fragmented across dozens of agencies with no unified mandatory standards. The CGP will establish mandatory cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure, a 72-hour federal breach notification standard, CISA fully funded as the lead civilian agency, election security with paper ballots, and a 500,000-job workforce pipeline.
Eight pillars of national cybersecurity: Mandatory standards. 72-hour breach notification. CISA empowered. Election security. Ransomware response. Workforce pipeline. Critical infrastructure protection. Supply chain security.
The United States faces escalating cyber threats from China (Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon), Russia (SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline), North Korea (cryptocurrency theft), and Iran (critical infrastructure probes), as well as ransomware enterprises generating billions in illicit revenue annually. These threats target energy grids, water systems, hospitals, financial networks, election infrastructure, and the defense industrial base.
Federal cybersecurity authority is fragmented across CISA, NSA, FBI, DOD Cyber Command, SEC, HHS, DOE, EPA, and dozens of sector-specific agencies. There is no single federal standard for critical infrastructure cybersecurity. Fifty states have 50 different breach notification laws with different timelines, definitions, and requirements.
Colonial Pipeline (2021) shut down the largest fuel pipeline on the East Coast, affecting 17 states. Change Healthcare (2024) disrupted claims processing for one-third of all US healthcare transactions. SolarWinds (2020) compromised nine federal agencies through a supply chain breach undetected for months. Over 500,000 cybersecurity positions are unfilled.
The cybersecurity workforce gap is a national security crisis. Over 500,000 positions unfilled. Federal agencies routinely lose talent to the private sector. The pipeline from education to cybersecurity careers is inadequate.
Sources: ITRC — idtheftcenter.org · CISA — cisa.gov · CyberSeek — cyberseek.org
Cybersecurity responsibility is spread across dozens of agencies with overlapping mandates and no unified command. CISA was created in 2018 but remains underfunded and lacks enforcement authority over private sector infrastructure. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is voluntary.
The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act mandated reporting rules, but CISA’s final rule is still being implemented. Meanwhile, 50 states maintain 50 different breach notification laws.
Critical infrastructure — energy, water, healthcare, finance — is overwhelmingly privately owned. Without mandatory standards, the most vulnerable systems remain the most exposed. Small water utilities, rural hospitals, and municipal governments cannot afford enterprise cybersecurity on their own.
| Country | Model | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Israel | National Cyber Directorate | Centralized authority, mandatory standards, public-private partnership. #1 per-capita cybersecurity industry in the world. |
| Estonia | Digital-first government | 99% of government services digital and secured. Rebuilt after 2007 Russian cyberattacks. Mandatory cybersecurity standards. |
| European Union | NIS2 Directive | Mandatory cybersecurity standards for essential services. 24-hour breach notification for critical sectors. |
| Australia | Critical Infrastructure Act 2022 | Mandatory reporting. Government assistance powers. 72-hour breach notification for critical infrastructure. |
| United States | Fragmented across dozens of agencies | Mostly voluntary standards. 50 state breach laws. CISA underfunded. 500K+ unfilled positions. 3,205 breaches in 2023. |
Cybersecurity investment is a fraction of the cost of the attacks it prevents. Colonial Pipeline alone cost $4.4M in ransom and billions in economic disruption. The Change Healthcare breach disrupted a third of US healthcare claims.
| Policy | Fiscal Position | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| CISA full funding | Significant investment | Competitive salaries, staffing, technology — offset by reduced incident costs |
| Workforce pipeline | $2–3B/year | Scholarships, community college programs, diversity initiatives — creates $120K median-salary careers |
| Critical infrastructure compliance | Federal assistance | Grants for under-resourced entities; penalties fund enforcement |
| Election security | Moderate | Federal grants for infrastructure modernization; paper ballot requirements |
| Breach notification standard | Minimal | Regulatory — replaces 50 state laws with one federal standard |
The cost of inaction: $4.45M average per breach. 3,205 breaches in 2023. 17 states without fuel from one ransomware attack. One-third of healthcare claims disrupted by a single breach. Cybersecurity investment is not optional — the attacks are happening now.
| Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Data breaches in 2023 | 3,205 — record high | ITRC Annual Report |
| Average breach cost | $4.45 million | IBM 2023 |
| Unfilled cybersecurity jobs | 500,000+ | CyberSeek / NIST |
| States affected by Colonial Pipeline | 17 | DOJ |
| Healthcare claims disrupted (Change Healthcare) | ~1/3 of all US claims | HHS |
| Federal agencies compromised (SolarWinds) | 9 | CISA |
| State breach notification laws | 50 different laws | NCSL |
| CGP breach notification standard | 72 hours — one federal rule | CGP policy |
| Median cybersecurity salary | $120,000 | BLS / CyberSeek |
“Every hospital locked out by ransomware is a patient who cannot get care. Every water system breached is a community at risk. Every election database targeted is democracy under attack. Cybersecurity is not an IT problem. It is a national security imperative.”— The Common Good Party