FEMA Warns: We Are At War With An Enemy That Wants To Destroy Our Way of Life
GTRA.org - December 12, 2008
(PRNewsChannel) / Harrisburg, Pa. / Ira Grossman, Chief Architect of FEMA, warned architects and security executives in his keynote address at the GTRA Symposium, about the risks associated with collaboration tools, stating that “as we move to a Web 2.0 collaborative environment, we are at war with an enemy that wants to destroy our way of life and society through coordinated terrorist attacks followed by cyber attacks.”
Collaboration and Web 2.0 solutions are no longer a phenomenon of younger generations or even of the business world. Federal employees are now using social networking tools on the job, raising new challenges that executives need to deal with immediately. The influx of social networking tools including blogs, wikis and podcasts coupled with a changing workforce that views these tools not as conveniences but as an integrated part of life is causing agency executives to take a long hard look at the risks and benefits of these tools and create policies and programs to manage them. A letter to the editor of Federal Computer Week even suggested that the E-Government Act should be reviewed not just for security, but also in the light of using Web 2.0 technologies.
One way agencies are attempting to take control of the Web 2.0 trend is to develop collaboration tools internally. Some recent examples include the State Departments creation of Diplopedia, designed to serve internal agency collaboration needs. In addition, the Intelligence Community has Intellipedia, the Department of Defense has Techipedia and the Army has created an on-line collaborative game for recruiting, called America’s Army. Despite this, agency executives must still deal with the security implications Web 2.0 brings to their networks.
Marian Cody, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), at the Environmental Protection Agency, co-panelist with Grossman, discussed the security vulnerabilities and risks associated with implementing these technologies. Cody remains a firm believer in the value Web 2.0 brings to an organization and stressed that it is the responsibility of agency executives to work on securely incorporating these technologies into an agency’s architecture. Cody said that the answer to dealing with collaboration is embedded in effective security and business practices so that an agency can safely use the tremendous power of collaboration technology to its advantage.
Because Web 2.0 solicits the insight of its collective members and promotes widespread user-collaboration, these technologies naturally assume complex problems like network security threats, information leakage and bugs. In addition to these risks are the fundamental challenges like the overall implementation of Web 2.0 into the architecture and culture of the agency, as well as control of the information shared through these collaborative tools.
About GTRA: GTRA brings together executive-level government technology Security, Enterprise Architecture, Green IT and Health IT leaders to collaborate, strategize and create innovative solutions. The semi-annual GTRA Symposiums address the topics identified through research with the government Council members and industry experts. By sharing best practices and lessons learned, knowledge is exchanged in a peer-to-peer forum, resulting in actionable government-wide strategic plans and cutting-edge solutions. Through a unique collaborative methodology, GTRA is revolutionizing the way government does business.
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Amanda Vlastas, GTRA
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