In this week’s roundup we discover find out why the future of federal cybersecurity lies in predictive intelligence; what the GSA cybersecurity contract sprint is all about; and how agencies are managing the IT modernization process and retirement of legacy systems. To learn more about these stories keep reading below.
The Future of Federal Cybersecurity: Predictive Security Intelligence
Agencies face myriad cyber threats each and every day and, more often than not, rather than getting ahead of these threats their cyber teams are simply playing whack-a-mole and keeping hackers and attackers at bay. However, finding a way to do more than just dodge to cybersecurity threats, and actually get out in front of them, is a hard task. The use of predictive security tools, security intelligence and DHS’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program could help agencies get there, according to federal officials who spoke this week on a panel at MeriTalk’ S Cybersecurity Brainstorm conference in Washington, D.C.
How the Federal Government is Using IT to Lower Costs
It’s no secret that the federal government is taking serious steps to help agencies move away from legacy IT systems. While the IT modernization push has many virtues – from improved ability to meet the mission and more robust information security – one of the side benefits is the opportunity to save money in the process. Top agency IT decision makers recently gathered to discuss how they are updating their legacy systems, creating agile IT processes, the challenges of IT modernization, and what it will really take to move agencies forward.
GSA in a ‘Sprint’ to Offer New Cybersecurity Contracts
Federal agency cybersecurity is receiving a big boost from the Obama Administration’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP). Not only was the first federal CISO appointed this month, but now through the GSA’s IT Schedule 70 Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) agencies will be able to learn more about what the key differentiators are for services offered by cybersecurity vendors.
To this end, Mary Davie, assistant commissioner for GSA’s Office of Integrated Technology Services in the Federal Acquisition Service said that the this month is focused on a “sprint” to get vendors in four priority areas: incident response, pen testing, cyber hunt, and risk and vulnerability assessments on to the schedule. While the GSA may be taking the lead, like many government projects these days it’s a collaborative effort with the Department of Homeland Security assisting in vendor vetting and the Office of Management and Budget facilitating centralized purchasing to ensure that agencies get maximum return on their investment.
