Stacey Dixon, principal deputy director of national intelligence and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, highlighted the need for more supply chain security and risk information sharing to address “growing and evolving” threats to the U.S. supply chain during the National Counterintelligence and Security Center’s 10th Annual Supply Chain Technical Exchange Conference.
“The continued growth and increased participation in this conference is, to me, a demand signal that we need more supply chain security and risk information sharing, and this is something the DNI and I are committed to doing,” Dixon said.
According to Dixon, the intelligence community’s supply chain risk management, or SCRM, integrity efforts focus on areas such as microelectronics, quantum sensing, artificial intelligence and cryptology, warning that these technologies are included in China’s top priorities “to develop and overtake the United States.”
“If we fall victim to the PRC or any adversary that attempts to penetrate our systems, many of the advantages we have not only disappear, but turn into disadvantages. As a consequence, even if we ‘run faster,’ we will find ourselves falling behind, which is why ensuring supply chain integrity for critical capabilities is a no-fail mission,” Dixon said.
ODNI and NCSC have developed new SCRM guidance based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s process risk assessment to help organizations assess supply chain risks from multiple threat vectors, according to Dixon.
“[T]his SCRM guidance encourages organizations to understand supply chain risks when considering their risk tolerance, particularly as they incorporate critical technologies into their ecosystem,” she said.
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