With the government’s Shared First initiative, the emergence of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and ongoing budget pressures, migrating to the cloud has moved from an ideal to reality for many government agencies.
However, along with the efficiencies and cost savings associated with cloud computing comes a number of information security risks that must be overcome. Keep reading →
Reps. Darrell Issa and Gerry Connolly say federal IT mismanagement has not only cost taxpayers billions, but has a dire effect on the economy.
The two congressmen with a history of butting heads agree sweeping federal IT reforms and giving CIOs budget authority would fix the problem. They talked about why on a stage in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. on Monday. Keep reading →
The number of reported cybersecurity incidents involving federal information networks continues to increase while the posture of federal agencies to defend against them appears to be weakening in 2012, according to projected data from a Congressional watchdog agency.
The Government Accountability Office’s director of information security issues, Greg Wilshusen, in a presentation to federal and industry security officials, said that the rate of reported security incidents, which had leveled off in 2011 after a steady four-year climb, was expected to jump again in 2012. Keep reading →
Management and program silos within agencies that so often stymie efforts to integrate information technology and security practices are also hindering efforts to institute smarter risk management strategies at agencies, according to senior government security officials.
“Risk is still being managed at most agencies in a stovepipe manner,” said Department of Energy Chief Information Officer Bob Brese (pictured at left) during a Government Technology Research Alliance conference on government security trends on Monday. Keep reading →
In tight fiscal times, federal agencies need to embrace changing technology, focus on attracting and retaining the next generation of workers and striking a balance between information sharing and security. To reach these goals, organizations need to foster a culture of trust and speed, a senior Defense Department official said.
David Wennergren, assistant deputy chief management officer for the Department of Defense, cited Stephen Covey’s book Speed Of Trust in his keynote speech at the Government Information and Analytics Summit in Washington D.C., this week. Keep reading →
Putting the pieces together for intelligence gathering or crime fighting is often likened to searching for needles in haystacks. And increasingly, those needles are digital traces in a sea of data. Keep reading →
We’ve heard national security leaders at the highest levels say it repeatedly: we are not prepared for cyber war.
Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, made it clear when he rated America’s readiness for addressing a catastrophic cyber attack “three on a scale of ten.” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has discussed the imminent threats of a breach that “shuts down part of the nation’s infrastructure in such a fashion that it results in a loss of life.” And Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has often been quoted saying that a large-scale attack on our critical infrastructure could wreak havoc on a scale “equivalent to Pearl Harbor.” Keep reading →
When the EADS and BAE announced merger plans earlier this year, it spurred a flurry of speculation about how the rest of the aerospace and defense industry would respond. Now in the aftermath of the merger being called off, speculation continues about the outlook of defense merger and acquisition (M&A) activity – and specifically what impact that will have on government and suppliers.
While the Department of Defense has indicated its reluctance to sanction M&As among the US primes (particularly when mergers lead to monopoly situations), at sub-tier levels, M&A activity has been occurring at a robust pace and promises to continue-at least in the near future. Keep reading →
The Obama administration is getting ready to change the way the government handles cybersecurity.
The White House has drafted an executive order, a draft of which is currently circulating among federal agencies for approval, mirroring cyber legislation that recently failed to get through a Senate vote. Among other things, the order shunts much of the enforcement and management of cybersecurity issues to federal agencies. We understand that, contrary to some earlier news reports, the classified portion of the order does not contain significant new authorities but details those already existing. Keep reading →
If you are not familiar with the term virtual-state you are not alone – but it’s a term you’re going to hear more often.
Here is a working definition that has broad acceptance: A virtual-state is defined as a nebulous community of individuals that self-identify and share in common one or more social, political and/or ideological convictions, ideas or values. They act collectively to influence and bring about changes they deem appropriate. You can read more about virtual-states here. Keep reading →