HP Federal’s Todd Gustafson: Planning, Talent, Partnership Key to Address Public Sector Cybersecurity Challenges

Todd Gustafson, president of HP’s federal segment, has said that agencies should consider implementing strategies that combine best practices in technology procurement, policy development, talent recruitment and public-private partnerships.

Gustafson wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday on Federal News Network that agencies need “a strong direction” for implementing technologies and training personnel as telework settings and cloud-based operations continue to put networks at risk of state-sponsored attacks.

He noted that the federal government’s siloed approach to cybersecurity needs to improve by encouraging industry competition and establishing a governmentwide security plan.

According to Gustafson, appointing a “central cybersecurity leader” and creating nontraditional recruitment channels such as mentorship programs would also support the government’s efforts to invest in its workforce.

Coordinating with consortia would additionally help agencies partner with entities that have the "time, knowledge and mutual commitment to innovation" that will help protect the government's information technology infrastructure, he added.

“There are countless avenues hackers take into networks, from stealing identities to penetrating poorly defended endpoint devices, such as network printers and computers,” said Gustafson.

“Technology vendors have been forging cybersecurity alliances among themselves for years to address specific issues affecting them all.”