The IBM Center recently partnered with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security to convene a set of interactive discussions among Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and other security executives in government and industry.  The meeting highlighted challenges and opportunities for action.

Experience from industry practices and industry research regarding personnel security provide interesting insights and lessons learned for government to consider.   These findings emerged from a recent roundtable discussion held in November and co-hosted by the IBM Center for The Business of Government and the National Academy of Public Administration.  The roundtable intended to help identify commercial benchmarks that can inform government choices.

Co-Author:  Christopher Ballister, Security & Privacy, IBM

Below are ideas that I shared on this topic yesterday as part of a panel discussion with the White House’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Background  The policy framework that governs Federal IT with respect to cybersecurity has many pieces. Major laws include:

The IBM Center for The Business of Government connects research to practice, applying scholarship to real world issues and decisions for government. The Center stimulates research and facilitates discussion of new approaches to improving the effectiveness of government at the federal, state, local, and international levels.

Global security and stability are becoming less obtainable due to a growing list of challenges. These challenges include, but are not limited to: proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; regional war among states; civil wars and failed states; international terrorism; global recession and poverty, international crime and drug cartels; and humanitarian crises and refugees. Many approaches have attempted to resolve these challenges; however, other means to resolve conflict and promote global security and stability are available and should be pursued more aggressively.

Federal Chief Information Officers, like their private sector CIO counterparts, lead the integration of information technology and organizational strategy.  CIOs must balance the daily needs of operational IT across their enterprise with how IT can contribute to longer term mission goals, while at the same time overseeing policy and resources for IT in a challenging fiscal environment.  U.S.

Mr. Rob Foster was selected as the Department of the Navy (DON) chief information officer (CIO) effective June 2015.  In support of the deputy under secretary of the navy for management, Mr. Foster heads the Office of the DON CIO and is the DON’s senior official and advisor on matters related to Information Management (IM), InformationTechnology (IT)/cyberspace, and Information Resources Management (IRM).

What are the IT priorities for the US Department of the Navy? How is the Navy leveraging mobility solutions? What is the US Navy doing to enhance its IT security. Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Rob Foster, Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of the Navy.