Managing IT assets around the world requires an eye on security for any organization. For federal agencies performing work OCONUS (outside the continental United States), cybersecurity programs and procedures must be managed from inside the government enclave, meaning that all efforts to maintain mission effectiveness must be performed by personnel in federal buildings or approved contractor facilities, and information must be confined within the agency’s network whenever possible.
Every October, National Cyber Security Awareness month gets us thinking about the ever expanding list of ways our national security and personal information can be vulnerable to cyber attack. The purpose of the month-long campaign is awareness, not fear, so we sought out some real life programs at federal agencies that are effectively addressing cybersecurity at a programmatic level supported by long-term thinking. As required, the federal cybersecurity programs we found are all managed from inside.
We asked Mr. Jay McCargo, President and CEO of ARServices, to share some specific examples of federal cybersecurity programs: the current challenges they must address, the types of programs that protect cybersecurity concerns, and the ways each agency can tailor their approach. McCargo’s firm, ARServices, manages several cybersecurity contracts, including managing programs for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB).
Although “There’s no one size fits all solution,” McCargo cautions, our conversation revealed some ways of thinking and some programmatic best practices that other agencies can use. In the first of a two-part podcast, we focused on DLA’s Asset Management and Asset Visibility programs.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about DLA’s cybersecurity approach, which includes the responsiveness and agility needed for an OCONUS program: office hours and duty hours that correspond to the local theater.
