Technically Speaking

Government agencies store large volumes of information. Yet poor data quality and a lack of collaboration across functions can be stumbling blocks to information governance.  Some of the data is dirty, messy, and non-standardized making data sharing a challenge. Without holistic data governance, data is chaotic But some organizations still see data governance as it used to be – siloed projects focused on compliance. Government enterprises spend all their time struggling to implement data governance. And, in the end, no one trusts the data.

When it comes to network modernization and security, federal IT may be experiencing a case of dueling personalities. On one side, network modernization is essential to a better security posture. This is because outdated legacy IT systems are more prone to vulnerabilities and were never designed to handle today’s threat landscape. However, the very act of modernizing networks may actually be making those networks less secure, at least in the short term.  

What does the U.S. government have to do with “connected cars”? Quite a lot.

Government shutdowns are a costly business. The 2013 shutdown cost $24 billion in lost economic output while the 1996 shutdown resulted in $2.1 billion in government costs. We are yet to learn the impact, if any, of the three-day 2018 shutdown. But, what we do know is that shutdowns are not universal. For many critical government employees, the lights never go out. Here’s just a shortlist: Veterans Affairs (VA) remained operational.

Shutdown, sequestration, budget cuts. With challenges like these, how can government agencies even attempt to build and sustain an engaging workplace where employees are satisfied, productive, committed and, let’s face it, less likely to leave.

From Equifax to Yahoo, WannaCry and Petra, every month seems to bring with it yet another high-profile attack. Vendors roll out patches and fixes, and questions are asked across the political and security communities.