Jamie Bennet
The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration is using the Department of Homeland Security’s zero trust maturity model to organize its own cloud-based cybersecurity framework, said Gerald Caron, chief information officer of ITA.
In an interview led by Matthew McFadden, vice president of cyber at General Dynamics Information Technology, Caron discussed the efforts of ITA to catch up with other agencies in terms of modernization and its implementation of zero trust architecture.
Caron noted the differences between domestic and international security management, comparing his current role to his previous job as CIO and assistant inspector general for information technology at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General.
He explained that he is building on ITA’s current cyber defense landscape and assessing which of the administration’s 70 functional capabilities can be prioritized without additional costs.
When asked about making a case for zero trust investments to ITA’s senior leadership, Caron said he will represent zero trust as not an IT issue or security effort but as an opportunity to improve organizational performance.
