The recent, rapid shift to remote work has been a lifeline for the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 virus. But that shift also took an already-growing attack surface and expanded it. Government agencies were being called to rethink their cybersecurity posture and become more resilient even before the pandemic. Now, the novel coronavirus has added an indisputable level of urgency on that demand. […]

COVID-19 has changed daily life as we know it. States are beginning to reopen, despite many case counts continuing to trend upwards, and even the most informed seem to have more questions than answers. Many of the answers we do have, though, are the result of models and simulations run on high-performance computing systems. While we can process and analyze all this data on today’s supercomputers, it will take an exascale machine to process quickly and enable true artificial intelligence (AI). […]

Red Hat

Our government is facing a challenging moment. Confronted with an unprecedented pandemic, agencies are having to dramatically ramp up their services for our country while large portions of the workforce cannot be in the office. Now more than ever, it is essential that government employees have access to IT systems and tools that are optimized to help them achieve their critical missions. […]

In March, the White House released guidance that encouraged government agencies to maximize telework opportunities for those at high risk of contracting the coronavirus, as well as all employees located in the D.C. area. Though there are still many government employees not yet authorized to telework, this guidance marks a turning point. […]

We’ve spent the last several months in a bit of a surreal version of normal but there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. When we emerge from the current environment, the reality is that we will be better off from a security perspective than we were when we went in. The additional need to increase the capacity of access of cloud-based apps, VPN or “other” have required us to think a lot harder about the security that comes along with this extra access to the point where “building it in” makes a lot more sense than “bolting it on.” […]

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework, initially issued in early 2014, outlines five functions with regard to cybersecurity risk: identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. Of these functions, those on the far left encapsulate measures that could be considered pre-breach; those on the right, post-breach. Far too often, however, government agencies tip the scales too far to the left. […]

During these unprecedented times, it’s more important than ever to maximize the value of our data. As first responders, health care professionals, and government officials lead the charge on COVID-19 response efforts, they need real-time insight into rapidly-changing conditions to make the best decisions for public health. […]

When you hear the terms “artificial intelligence” (AI) and “machine learning” (ML) (and let’s be honest, if you have even a sliver of interest in technology, it’s difficult not to), hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, HCI is beginning to play an important role in high-performance use cases like AI and ML with its ability to capture, process, and reduce vast quantities of data at the source of creation in a small form factor. In this blog, the third in a 3-part series on hyperconverged infrastructure, we’ll examine the role HCI is playing in deploying a complete AI solution. If you’d like to read the previous blogs, you can read about the role that HCI plays in enabling a disaster recovery solution and how it is changing the dynamics for edge computing and remote offices.   […]

Most of us have a standard list of go-to passwords for various logins and websites – each fluctuating slightly with upper or lowercase letters, extra numbers, symbols and punctuation. Some of us keep them scribbled on a notepad, while others click “remember me” when logging onto sites, to speed up the process and relieve the stress of remembering them time and time again. […]

HCI Hyper converged ipad connectivity

The benefits of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) as a foundation for building a cloud platform are well documented, as organizations are turning to HCI to simplify complexity for both hardware and virtualized environments. We’ve recently published a white paper in collaboration with Nutanix and Fujitsu on this topic, Simplifying Multi-Cloud and Securing Mission Progress. But recent research from Meritalk1 highlights that HCI represents many other use cases beyond cloud. In this first installment in a series of 3 blogs, we’ll examine how HCI is impacting disaster recovery (DR) in the data center. […]

Federal money spending government

If 2019 is any indication, Federal contracting in 2020 promises to be a very interesting year. Federal contracting has experienced steady growth – an average of 6 percent year-over-year – for the last five years according to Bloomberg Government. Spending jumped 9 percent in 2018, representing a 50 percent uptick from previous years. […]

Machine learning AI modernization

As we all know too well, eighty cents of every Federal IT dollar still supports legacy IT.  Agencies miss opportunities to innovate – and more. A 2019 GAO study recognized a few of the consequences of keeping legacy systems on life support, including security risks, unmet mission needs, staffing issues, and increased costs. Worse, the […]

White House flag at half mast

Digital transformation is happening everywhere – and with increasing urgency in the Federal government.  Advances in cloud technology have allowed the acceleration of these initiatives; yet with those innovations come critical cybersecurity challenges, especially as it relates to identity management and data privacy. […]

Cybersecurity cyber

By: Lisa Lorenzin, Director of Emerging Technology Solutions for the Americas, Zscaler Federal CIOs will be working harder than ever to deploy cloud applications and infrastructure over the next year as they work to meet 2020 Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) deadlines, continue to deploy shared services, and work to meet evolving mission requirements. The […]

hybrid cloud multi cloud computing in the cloud

By: Greg Fletcher, Business Development Director, Federal Civilian Agencies, Juniper Networks The government’s modernization effort has evolved over time with the help of policy developments, increased funding and a cultural shift toward embracing technology. Federal leaders dedicated years to planning the impending digital transformation and now, agencies are beginning to leverage innovative forms of technology […]

Two months ago, the President signed an executive order to accelerate the research and development of artificial intelligence tools in government. It laid out six strategic goals for federal agencies: Promote “sustained investment” in AI R&D with industry, academic and international partners. Improve access to “high-quality and fully traceable federal data.” Reduce the barriers to […]

We tend to think of international cyber attacks as a new phenomenon: threats only created by recent mass digitalization. But, in reality, they have been around since the Cold War. Back in 1982, the CIA accessed the control system for a Soviet gas pipeline and triggered a massive explosion. At the time, such events were known as ‘logic bombs’. […]

Kevin Cox is Jon Snow in the war against cyber threats–for the cyber night is here and full of terrors. And, winter isn’t coming–it’s already here. As Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) rounds out phases I and II, our government needs automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to hold back the ugly cyber hoards. AI, ML, and cloud are the dragons, dragon glass, and Valyrian steel that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to combat the hacking white walkers. Okay, so how to separate fact from fairytale? […]

cybersecurity

Federal agencies have a data problem. Data that was traditionally inside four walls is now everywhere. Employees and vendors access it from all kinds of devices, located in all kinds of places, making it increasingly challenging for security teams to see what those users are doing with that data. […]

With an increasing attack surface resulting in millions of new threats every year, partially updating C&A documents every six months, re-mediating a few Plan of Action and Milestones, and updating all docs every three years, won’t, and doesn’t, keep the bad guys out of Federal networks. […]

With the need for secure, reliable communications at an all-time government high, the solutions on EIS aren’t just in the “nice to have” category, they’re things your office “must have” if it is to continue meeting critical missions well, says Steve Boberski of Collab9. […]

In the second article in a series about the most important technology trends, Tom Soderstrom of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory focuses on the key technologies that will deliver maximum benefits, especially when used together. […]

In a new series, Tom Soderstrom, the CTO at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses the future of technology: how work evolves, key technologies, and how to engage the next generation. […]