Last Friday, I had the privilege of hearing Henry Sienkiewicz, Vice Chief Information Assurance Executive for the Defensive Information Systems Agency (DISA), at a luncheon hosted by the Northern Virginia chapter of the Air Forces Communications and Electronics Association. In his opening remarks, Mr. Sienkiewicz identified three vectors challenging their cybersecurity delivery: budget decreases, strong demand from the services, and how cybersecurity is being conducted to defend and protect the mission. My five key takeaways are the following...

One of the most frequently misused quotes references the bottom of the totem pole. Many people associate it with negativity - “I’m stuck at the bottom of the totem pole.” However, the bottom is one of the places you wanted to be because it was one of the most honorable positions. It was those at the bottom who everyone relied on to hold society up. Cybersecurity is no different. Those at the bottom now must help hold those at the top.

One of the most common questions I get from clients is, “What are the differences between a 1GB and 10GB Ethernet network?” The two biggest are speed and security.

Non-technical readers may be surprised to learn that software defects are the most common root cause of information security vulnerabilities. Whether through poor design, improper coding techniques, inadequate testing, or incorporation of third-party software modules of dubious quality; in many cases the threat vector is baked in before users install the software.

Technically News scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a weekly source of IT news, information, and ideas that impact the public sector. This edition's articles include: Veterans Affairs Department Launches $3M Open Source Contest; Technology’s Real Value for Government; Trusted Geolocation in the Cloud; Nations Prepare for Cyber War; The Pentagon's Cybersecurity Big Data Analyzer.

Zombie Data is old, forgotten data you think you’ve disposed of, but haven’t, coming back “from the dead” when a hacker finds it. And unfortunately, in the digital age, these zombies are not the slow limping version; they’re the 21st century, adrenaline-fused kind.

Technically News is a new feature on Technically Speaking that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a weekly source of IT news, information, and ideas that impact the public sector.

With the holidays in the rear view mirror we take a moment to look at what online scammers have been up to this season. It is that time of year where the perfect conditions exist for malicious programmers to run their seemingly annual Search Engine Poison (SEP) attacks. For those who aren’t aware: What is SEP?

Technically News is a new feature on Technically Speaking that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a weekly source of IT news, information, and ideas that impact the public sector.

Where Is Government IT Headed in 2013?