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January 4, 2012 By Dan Lohrmann
It’s that time of year when we ask: where are we heading in regards to cybersecurity in 2012? Also, where have we been? Here’s a bit of what I’ve been reading over the past week.
There are plenty of blogs, articles and technology answers to this question. Washington Technology mentions: How you will remember 2011. William Jackson, who I usually enjoy reading over at Government Computer News, writes about 5 cyber threats (pain points) coming in 2012 and also 3 personal resolutions that you can make to improve security.
I can also point to plenty of industry lists available describing upcoming advances in cloud computing, implementing more secure smartphones, or even the coming surge in mobile payments. There are also plenty of threat prediction articles regarding online security, such as this over-arching cyber threat piece from McAfee by my friends over at Government Security News.
In my opinion, most of these lists are fairly predictable, even if they are accurate. In fairness, I’ve written plenty of these pieces in the past, and the lists haven't changed a whole lot from last year. I looked back at my 2008 predictions at CSO Magazine from four years ago, and noticed that all of those items could happen in 2012 as well. (As in 2008, we have another Summer Olympics coming up – this time in London.)
This year, I’d like to focus the question a bit further for government security teams that are prioritizing cybersecurity projects for the coming year.
So what will government cybersecurity teams be working on in 2012 – or what should they seriously consider that may not be on their current “to do” project list? Here’s my list of top cyber projects being worked on:
1) Advances in Identity Management (Yes, here it is again, and the importance of ID management isn’t going away anytime soon.)
2) Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
3) Domain Name Service security (DNSsec)
5) Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions
No, this list is not in priority order, since different enterprises are in different places on these projects. Nevertheless, there is plenty of evidence that these projects are all heating up nationwide – if they are not already well underway or implemented for large enterprises. Notice that I provided a link to articles in each area, so you can read more about the current trend if you’d like more background.
A word of warning for state and local governments, if none of these topics/projects are on your government’s security radar screen and/or you have no plans to address these issues, you may be heading for trouble. I realize that many organizations are just putting out cyber fires, dealing with hackers and trying to deal with breaches and daily operations challenges. However, strategic planning needs to be on your agenda for cybersecurity in 2012. I strongly recommend action.
What is your security team working on in 2012?
Building effective virtual government requires new ideas and hard work. Security professionals need to be enablers of innovation. From helpful Internet training to defending cloud computing architectures to securing mobile devices, Dan Lohrmann will cover what's hot and what's not in protecting your corner of cyberspace.
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The U.S. government has stringently tested the cyber security solutions of a company called Route1 (route1.com) and has concluded that the technology exceeds their expectations. They are therefore adopting Route1's technology as their standard, as has the government of Netherlands, and now the government of Canada. Route1's cyber security solutions are also being adopted by private corporations such as ING Bank and Cadillac Fairview, and independent business people. Route1's website features a partial list of clients that reads like a "Who's Who?". Once way ahead of the curve, Route1 is now in the right place at the right time with the most thorough and economical product to prevent all forms of cyber infractions. One of their slogans is "Securing the Digital World", but I think their best slogan is "Protecting the Fortress". Private corporations are finally realizing that they need military-grade security, and that anything less than that can result in serious breaches.