Nichols Martin
Jim Richberg, public sector field chief information security officer at Fortinet, said government entities should employ flexible digital platforms capable of enabling better productivity and higher return of investment and securing networks amid the pandemic-driven work-from-home trend.
He noted in a commentary published Tuesday that integrated, security-focused products would also help agencies streamline management and ensure agile performance across networks, including those accessed remotely.
"Government offices can adopt these integrated solutions to ensure that their network infrastructure remains efficient and allows long term flexibility without sacrificing performance," he added.
Richberg also advises agencies to review a network's endpoint security for teleworking or work-from-home approaches as home-based networks may have openings for threats that target remotely accessed government data.
Aside from citing challenges related to operations and resource allocation, he remarked that agencies can also gain advantages from the new set up.
"[The pivot to remote telework] presents the opportunity to accelerate government IT transformation to a more efficient, flexible and secure operating posture as part of the post-COVID 'new normal'."
