Today’s Executive Order prohibits Federal agencies and U.S. persons from acquiring, transferring, or installing BPS equipment in which any foreign country or foreign national has any interest and the transaction poses an unacceptable risk to national security or the security and safety of American citizens. Evolving threats facing our critical infrastructure have only served to highlight the supply chain risks faced by all sectors, including energy, and the need to ensure the availability of secure components from American companies and other trusted sources.   

Is this saying that all such equipment must be from American companies exclusively? And if so, how feasible is that-- how much of the current equipment is made internationally (for price reasons, for example), and how reasonable is the assumption that a piece of equipment made elsewhere is inherently a threat? Is this intended for specific threats that have been identified, and if so wouldn't it be better to target them rather than use the same broad-stroke brush for them all?

NOW they´re worried about foreign interference?  Not even to protect the integrity of elections for the last three and a half years? 

The "Executive" neither knows nor cares a bit about cyber security. Ensuring that everything is made in the US, as if that were even possible, is pure election rhetoric. Other than more rhetoric, or some bans on certain companies or countries that self-serve the financial or election or vain interests of the members of the administration, or to castigate the scapepoat of the day, there will be no substantive real action that benefits national security as a result of this "order".  

Has this administration implemented any well thought out, coherent, reasoned and (not to mention) constitutional policy whatsoever? There will be no answers to the questions that Richard and Matt pose.  The administration has neither the competence nor the will. 

It may be tough these days but I was hoping politics stays out of these blogs.