Infosecurity

US government CIOs: security in federal systems has not improved

By Alice Kok | 26 February 2009

The number one concern for US government chief information officers (CIOs) is infosecurity - a problem that is not getting any easier to address - according to a recent TechAmerica survey.

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The results of the survey show no change on last year - or the year before that. In fact, infosecurity has topped the list among federal CIOs for the past eight years.

“It is a challenge where there has been progress made. But it is also a challenge where the threat is a dynamic one and continues to grow,” said Paul Wohlleben, a TechAmerica partner who helped conduct the survey. “The IT security response needs to include a broad strategy and have government-wide scope and cover the full range of threats.”

The survey polled 53 CIOs and information resource managers at 46 federal executive, judicial and legislative branch agencies between August and December 2008.

Although CIOs are working to comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) — by certifying their IT security systems and encrypting their data — CIOs say that the security of federal systems is not markedly improved. In some cases, they say, security has only got worse.

The cybersecurity threat has grown far more complex in recent years, as it outmanoeuvres traditional federal security approaches. At a panel discussion on the results of the CIO survey, Jacquelyn Patillo, Deputy CIO for the Transportation Department, defended the FISMA approach to federal cybersecurity, saying it helps set standard responsibilities and expectations among all departments and subagencies and serves as a foundation for a secure IT environment.

Other concerns include understaffing and e-government initiatives. For US CIOs, two new barriers emerged this year: keeping pace with technological change and disconnects with other agency executives.