Brenda Marie Rivers
Tommy Gardner, chief technology officer of HP’s federal business, has said agencies should transform their organizational cultures, adjust budgeting approaches and implement new technolgy as part of initiatives to avoid another data breach similar to the Office of Personnel Management hack that occurred nearly four years ago.
He wrote in a Fifth Domain opinion piece published Monday that cybersecurity efforts also involve agencies allowing third-party businesses such as Device-as-a-Service providers to help manage government information technology systems.
Gardner added that training is essential to an agency culture that recognizes the role of employees in security efforts and agencies should realize that “no such thing as a ‘tried-and-true’ technology acquisition practice in a hyper-connected world.”
Agency leaders should also implement programs to retain chief information officers and awareness campaigns to demonstrate the importance of security to all members of the organization.
“As we approach the fourth anniversary of the massive OPM data breach, it is a good time for government agencies to reflect and ask themselves a familiar question: Are we better off now than we were when that damaging and costly cyberattack occurred?”
