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Inside the Government Cybersecurity Landscape: Federal vs. State Level Challenges

Few would dispute the idea that an effective cybersecurity profile requires candid assessments of potential vulnerabilities. Here’s a closer look at the challenges facing the federal cybersecurity mission and the efforts of state-level agencies.

Federal

Though the federal government demonstrates an ongoing commitment to ramping up its cybersecurity mission with annual spending in the tens of billions of dollars, key challenges include the decentralized nature of this effort spread across more than 100 agencies, each responsible for their own cybersecurity.

Or, to put it another way: “Federal cybersecurity is a dense, inaccessible topic to those outside the information security community and even to some inside it. Information is scattered across a variety of government documents, with no ‘one stop shop’ to understand the topic.”

This assessment is part of a comprehensive report (“Understanding Federal Cybersecurity”) by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, which found that — in addition to the need for more efficient coordination and ongoing efforts to improve the technological tools and the operational strategies necessary for effective risk assessment and incident response — there is a significant “shortage in skilled cybersecurity-minded talent.”

State

Much of the reporting on cybersecurity at the state level also cites perceived shortcomings, with articles characterizing state efforts as a “weak link” in the nation’s cybersecurity defenses and headlines like “State Cybersecurity Offices Need More Money and Staff.”

According to a survey of leading IT security officers in 50 states, “the top three issues impacting states’ cybersecurity remain the same from past surveys – budget, talent and increasing cyber threats.” The report (“States at Risk: A Bold Play for Change”) notes that nearly half of states do not have a separate cybersecurity budget and more than a (Read more...)