Public sector Department and agencies are facing an array of challenges that may hinder mission delivery. Restrictive budgets, talent shortages, and stringent regulations are just the beginning – a cybersecurity issue could compromise mission success and public trust.
“There are a great number of challenges facing the public sector, certainly in the cybersecurity domain,” said Robert Carey, Vice President/General Manager, Global Public Sector Solutions at RSA who has an extensive background in cyber, in an interview with Government Technology Insider.
Register for RSA Public Sector Day
According to the Office of Management and Budget, agencies faced over 31,000 cyber incidents in 2018. In 2019, over 100 agencies were hit with ransomware attacks. These incidents highlight the importance of cyber protection for agencies through monitoring technology and education – topics that will be the focus of the upcoming RSA Public Sector Day.
Carey explained that the event will explore a variety of security topics that pertain to all levels of agencies. AI, risk management, ransomware for state and local, and cyber projections for 2025, all touching the Human Element – the focus of this year’s conference – there is something for everyone.
Experts from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will be joined by state and local cyber experts that will provide tools and tactics for agencies to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. This is a unique opportunity for state, local, and federal agencies to collaborate and share best practices for cyber and more as they start of the modernization journey.
Agencies are looking to embrace new technologies, move away from legacy systems, and implement cloud-based solutions, but this isn’t an easy task, explained Carey. “The cybersecurity ecosystems that agencies have must be updated to protect this new way of doing business,” Rob added.
Although modernization is a top priority, legacy systems are sometimes difficult to update and adding newer technologies creates its own issues. IoT, for example, can connect apps and data providing agencies with an automated, modernized data ecosystem. But it also increases the attack surface an agency has, creating even more data to protect.
“Interestingly, the cost of being an attacker is going down, but the costs of cyber defense seem to be rising, and impacts to a hyperconnected world are going up,” said Carey. He explained that malicious cyber actors (whether criminal, or state sponsored) possess significant capability – and this shows in growing cyberattack numbers – a continued trend that all agencies must prepare for.
Are you beginning the modernization journey? Could your agency improve its cyber posture? Register for RSA Public Sector Day here to reserve your spot at these discussions.
