DHS begins to explore next gen cyber security; Twitter becomes part of the Department of Defense’s war machine; GSA assumes leadership of managing government shared services; and the new VA CIO, reveals her top priorities. These are the stories we’re keeping an eye on this week at Federal Technology Insider.
DHS Moves from Perimeter Defense to Data Protection
FCW reported this week that the CISO of the Department of Homeland Security is evaluating a change in cyber security posture from perimeter defense to data protection. In the article Jeff Eisensmith, CISO at DHS said that he anticipated that within the next five years securing data within the network would take priority over securing the network itself. The reason for this change? The ability to achieve a greater degree of security courtesy of the granularity that can be provided as well a better use of always limited budget resources.
Department of Defense Advocates Using Twitter for a Hearts and Minds Campaign Against ISIS
The Department of Defense (DoD) has come up with a twist on an old non-combat technique – a hearts and minds campaign via Twitter to help undermine ISIS. In a recent article on NextGov, Michael Lumpkin, assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict, advocated that the DoD both support the State Department in its operations but also run its own counterinsurgency social media program by delivering tailored, nuanced messages against ISIS to Muslim communities via the social media platform.
GSA to Lead Shared Services Pilot Program
There’s been a lot of talk about running a shared services program for government agencies over the last few years and it seems that it will finally be coming to fruition. At the Partnership for Public Service event held last week, GSA Administrator, Denise Turner Roth, explained that her agency would be taking the lead in roll-out of the Unified Shared Services Management (USSM) program. FedScoop shared that the USSM will “streamline federal service delivery [in areas such as payroll and procurement because] departments with expertise in core administrative functions consolidate by providing them as services to other U.S. agencies less knowledgeable in those lines of business.”
New VA CIO, LaVerne Council, Reveals Big Changes to IT Coming
In her first public speech as CIO of the Department of Veterans Affairs, CIO LaVerne Council, established a new tone for the agency. Council’s speech clearly indicated that she has her priorities established and that while her plans are ambitious they’re also achievable. Rather than trying to boil the ocean and modernize all systems at once, Council has a delineated a priority list of “two or three keystone projects” that will “pave the road for future success.” In this way, she can ensure that IT will support the agency’s mission and deliver services to support veterans “from their end of active duty to their end of active life.”
