HP Federal’s Tommy Gardner: Public-Private Sector Coordination Essential for Supply Chain Security

Tommy Gardner, chief technology officer at HP’s federal segment, has said the public and private sectors must work to establish trust between agencies and contractors to improve supply-chain and system security.

Gardner wrote in an opinion piece published Monday on FCW that agencies should consider enlisting independent entities to conduct internal audits of prime contractors.

Agencies must also go beyond vendor selection and understand the hardware vulnerabilities and supply-chain risks associated with legacy government platforms, he noted.

According to Gardner, agencies should consider implementing the “mutually beneficial” approach of the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program that would qualify compliant companies for higher-risk initiatives.

“In the coming months, COVID-19, like other future disruptions, will continue to expose security and supply chain vulnerabilities and hopefully push us all toward better systems,” he said.

“While there is no turnkey solution, the first step every organization should take today is to identify trusted vendors who are willing to proactively partner with them to build better, more resilient supply chains for the future.”

Gardner also offers his perspective on federal market trends through Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Expert program.