Page 11 - FCW, July/August 2018

CYBERSECURITY CONTINUAL VIGILANCE
Federal Agencies Face ‘Systemic’
Challenges in Cyber Security
Security Pros Turn to Continual Vigilance and Enterprise Solutions
Following a number of devastating IT system breaches in recent years, cybersecurity has become a major issue for government leaders. The
Trump administration has made it a core feature of its IT modernization efforts, and Congress has hinted that it could significantly increase funds for agencies’ cybersecurity programs.
What remains unclear is what agencies will do
to secure their systems and data against threats
that are growing in number and sophistication. It likely won’t be trying to plug security gaps by simply throwing more technology at the problem.
“From the conversations I have had with
federal leadership, agencies believe they have enough tools,” said John Kupcinski, director of federal cybersecurity at KPMG. “Their problem is operationalizing this technology and developing use cases to fit agencies’ missions.”
Many agencies which own and operate complex cyber security capabilities have only scratched the surface of maturing these functions, Kupcinski said. This is due to a number of factors, including the cyber workforce shortage; organizational silos; and challenges linking the strategic goals to the operational tempo of the organization.
PRODUCED BY: SPONSORED BY:
Kate Charlet, program director for technology and