President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that seeks to address foreign use of infrastructure as a service cloud computing platforms for malicious cyber activities.
The order directs the secretary of the Department of Commerce to develop rules within six months to require IaaS providers to verify the identity of foreigners with IaaS accounts and gives the official the authority to prohibit or impose restrictions on transactions with foreign individuals using IaaS for cyber breaches, the White House said Tuesday.
The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General should seek feedback within 120 days from industry on how to promote collaboration and information sharing between agencies and IaaS providers and submit a report to the president within 240 days.
Reuters reported a senior administration official said the government has observed that an individual would rent thousands of IaaS platforms within the U.S. and resell them to cyber threat actors.
The EO âprovides the Secretary of Commerce the ability to say âThere is no reason for you to continue to have access to the nationâs products,ââ the official told the publication.
