Amit Yoran, Dick Burk Speak on Security, Culture, Top Challenges Facing Government IT Executives
GTRA.org - December 12, 2008
(PRNewsChannel) / Harrisburg, Pa. / Amit Yoran, dubbed the “cyber czar,” CEO of Netwitness and Former Director of the National Cyber Security Division at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Dick Burk, the “godfather” of federal segment architecture and former Chief Architect at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – co-presented the opening keynote address at the Government Technology Research Alliance (GTRA) Symposium discussing security and top challenges facing government IT executives in the audience.
Yoran discussed the ways security incidents are caused by vulnerabilities in next generation technologies including wireless and web 2.0, which are giving new access methods to unauthorized users and compromising security. “One of the biggest challenges facing security executives is the increase in demand for dynamic enterprise applications, service oriented architectures and flexible collaboration tools - all of which provide value yet create new vulnerabilities which are problematic to an organization’s security needs” said Yoran.
Burk highlighted the important role cross-discipline collaboration plays in an organization’s success. “Challenges transcend boundaries and collaboration has to work across organizations” said Burk, “it takes a special skill set and people must feel comfortable working with people that they don’t usually work with.”
“In a time of uncertainty, with new technologies and rising threats, the role of the IT executive is becoming increasingly challenging to predict and even harder to execute” said Parham Eftekhari, Director of Research, GTRA “oftentimes, executives are expected to prepare for challenges and needs that have yet to be identified – its the ultimate conundrum.”
Discussions at the symposium from the Chief Architects and CISOs made it clear they understand their responsibilities are both to meet current agency needs as well as prepare the agency for potential obstacles. They must lay the groundwork to integrate new technologies as well as be proactive in protecting themselves against future threats.
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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