Breakout II

The White House’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. FISMA. NIST's Cybersecurity Framework. There's no shortage of cybersecurity initiatives and tools created to secure federal agencies. But the rise in high-profile breaches, like those at OPM and on the Democratic National Committee, begs the question: Is it all working?

Ask any CIO about their biggest concerns, and near the top of the list will be the dire need for more talented personnel. There's a lack of qualified technologists in the federal government, and agencies don't have the incentives or high salaries to draw IT and cybersecurity workers away from their cushy gigs in the private sector. In that type of environment, how does the federal government compete?

As agencies move to digitize operations, they face a plethora of challenges in spite of the perceived efficiencies and cost savings moving away from legacy systems would bring. As barriers like a lack of funding, cultural pushback and risk aversion trouble agencies' first steps in modernization, what steps can they take to better enable this necessary digital transformation?