IT Security Tops Federal CIO Concerns
Information technology security is unsurprisingly the top challenge reported by federal government CIOs in an annual survey conducted by the Technology Association of America -- a group formed earlier this year by the merger of the Information Technology Association of America and the American Electronics Association. Since 2009 marks a period of greater change than normal, with the transition to a new administration, authors revised the study's format to examine impacts of the transition and offer advice for the future. The paper also looks back at the eight years of President George W. Bush's administration and provides commentary on challenges, outcomes and lessons learned.
The study's findings, released Tuesday, classify participating CIOs into three categories in terms of their thinking on the current IT security challenge. One subset tended to define their IT security progress and challenges in terms of compliance with OMB directives and initiatives. Another subset was more focused on protecting current IT assets -- infrastructure, networks, software and data -- from unauthorized intrusion and harm. A third subset believed a strategic response is required to address cybersecurity. Other challenges described in the report include IT infrastructure, management, resources, workforce, applications systems and transitioning to the future.
Key observations from CIOs for the Obama administration fit into the following themes:
• Strong leadership drives change
• Employ laser-sharp focus
• Demand results and verify
• Achieve good IT governance
• Fix IT infrastructure
• Fund priority initiatives
• Continue to standardize and consolidate
• Strengthen the blended workforce
The full report and CIO survey will be available on the ITAA and AeA Web sites.
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