“Security must be built into every aspect of our systems architecture and be seamlessly compatible with our business architecture.”

– Rebecca Jacoby, Cisco Chief Information Officer

When Cisco’s CIO Rebecca Jacoby and I agreed that security would be built into every aspect of our IT systems architecture, we knew this was no small task. To some degree, security requirements were bolted on, not baked in, and what “security” meant was different from person to person in our organizations. We knew that we had to raise awareness and knowledge about security—not just among the security practitioners in our IT organization, but also with the IT generalists and those architecting applications and systems. That way, systems would be designed and embedded with security from day one. Read More »

Tags: Cisco, cyber security, cybersecurity, security

A Republican task force recently released a limited set of near-term recommendations for cybersecurity legislation that emphasized voluntary standards instead of regulation. Interesting. Several words jump out at me in that sentence. “Voluntary standards”, “near-term”, “not regulated”. I paraphrase.

Seems to me that something as important as a task force that was put together should be working on an overall strategy to address cybersecurity rather than trying to patch holes in the dike. Read More »

Tags: cybersecurity, DHS, FISMA, government, legislation, private sector, security, vulnerabilities, White House Cyber Plan

I recently read an article about a “good enough” network. I know this has come up in the past, but this time was in a much different context. Some people might believe that a “good enough” network is enough enough when you are moving data and web servers, but what about when it becomes the lifeline for the power grid? Read More »

Tags: cyber security, cybersecurity, Energy Management, Energy/Utilities, Energywise, powergrid, security, Smart Grid

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Bill Bransford. Bill is with Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a law firm in the DC area, and is also the host of FED TALK, a radio show that is taped live every other Friday at 11:00 a.m. I was one of the two guests on this past week, along with Tim Simon, to discuss technology in the federal government. Topics included Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Mobility and Telework, and the ever famous Bring Your Own Device to work discussion. Read More »

Tags: cyber security, cybersecurity, desktop virtualization, federal government, Federal News Radio, mobility, remote worker, telework, virtualization

As Telework policy initiatives expand globally the number of events, articles and forums has grown exponentially. Intersections are everywhere… and sometimes where you least expect them. As an example, Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) initiative, industry and goverment Cloud events - “Telework” is a common thread.

How should government agencies be investing in the cloud for their “Mobile Workforce?” How do policies need to change to address cybersecurity threats? What technologies best align with both government mandates? All of these were explored in detail. But, there’s a critical element that was strangely missing from many of the dialogues.

Technology and policy alone do not guarantee a successful “Telework” program. We the people – you and me – do! We are the final and third component of any successful Telework program – where the mix and balance of policy, technology, and people create the desired outcome – workforce efficiency. But how do you identify and hire the right people? How do you track workforce performance? How do you hire for success? According to a recent research study, “Top 5 personality traits of successful web workers,” there are personality traits to help guide your selection and retention of the workforce. 

Personally speaking I was not surprised to learn that extroverts make for great web-workers (teleworkers) – being one myself ;0).  What about you?

Tags: cloud, cybersecurity, telework, workforce mobility