“Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT problem—it’s a national priority.”
— Executive Order 14028, May 12, 2021

⚠️ A Wake-Up Call for Everyone in Tech

I still remember the SolarWinds incident vividly. It shook the foundations of trust in IT. While many treated it as an isolated breach, the U.S. government didn’t. Instead, they responded with Executive Order 14028, and that move changed the game.

Although the document is government-focused, its implications ripple across the entire IT world. Whether you’re managing FortiGate in a small business or leading DevOps in a multinational, this affects you.

🔍 Breaking Down the EO: What It Actually Says

Let’s simplify the core elements of the Executive Order while keeping things practical.

1. 

Share Threat Data—Fast

Information sharing is now a mandate for federal agencies and their vendors. This pushes the entire ecosystem toward real-time collaboration. Why wait to report a breach when we could all be better prepared if we knew about it?

2. 

Secure by Design, Not by Patch

Vendors must comply with secure practices—MFA, encryption, auditing. This isn’t a suggestion anymore. It’s embedded in procurement policy. If you sell to the government, you build securely or you’re out.

3. 

Cyber Incident Review Board

Inspired by the NTSB for transportation, this board investigates major cyber incidents and shares lessons learned. It encourages transparency over blame, something we desperately need in IT.

4. 

SBOM: Know What You’re Running

The Executive Order introduces the concept of a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). Think of it as an ingredient list for your software stack. You wouldn’t eat mystery meat—why run mystery code?

5. 

Zero Trust Goes Mainstream

Agencies are being pushed toward Zero Trust architecture. No more assuming someone is safe just because they’re inside the firewall. Trust is earned, every time, for every session.

6. 

Playbooks Beat Panic

Every agency must adopt standardized response playbooks. Why? Because in a breach, time is your most valuable asset. The better prepared you are, the faster you recover.

🌍 Why This Matters to the Rest of the World

You may be thinking: “But I’m not in the U.S. federal space.” That’s fair—but here’s why you should care anyway.

First, federal standards often become industry norms. NIST, for example, started as a federal initiative and now underpins ISO 27001 audits and security frameworks worldwide.

Second, your clients—especially in finance, health, or logistics—may soon demand SBOMs and Zero Trust documentation. They’ll want to know: What’s your detection strategy? Are you segmenting users and devices?

Lastly, this EO tells us something fundamental: Security is no longer a technical layer; it’s a strategic pillar.

💡 How I’m Applying This as an IT Leader

We’ve been taking many of these principles seriously long before EO 14028 made them trendy. We segment users with Fortinet, enforce MFA with Microsoft 365, and track assets via Endpoint Central. This EO validated those efforts and gave us even more language to communicate our strategy upward to the business.

I’m now using this executive order as a reference point in:

  • Internal awareness workshops
  • Vendor risk evaluations
  • SOP reviews
  • ISO documentation alignment

✍️ Final Thoughts

This Executive Order won’t solve every cyber threat. But it sets a standard—one that says doing the basics well, consistently, and collaboratively matters.

So whether you’re building SBOMs or just now rolling out Zero Trust, you’re not late. You’re on the right track.

📌 TL;DR

  • EO 14028 elevates cybersecurity to a national priority.
  • It introduces standards for Zero Trust, SBOMs, DevSecOps, and incident response.
  • These practices are quickly becoming international expectations—even if you’re outside the U.S.