Department of Homeland Security | Government Sales Insider

A peek inside the government’s cyber strategy

June 13, 2017 by Nick Mirabile Leave a comment

By Nick Mirabile, director of cybersecurity

It seems like every month there’s a new high-profile cyberattack wreaking havoc on our networks. Which is why we recently gathered three federal IT leaders to talk about cybersecurity and how they’re safeguarding their agencies in an era of emerging threats.

This panel discussion last month was fascinating, with success stories on what they’re doing to protect networks, as well as the biggest challenges for how to stay ahead of the threats. I picked up on a few themes important for companies selling cybersecurity solutions to agencies:

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Filed under Events Tagged with Air Force, attribute based access control, CDM, cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security, Identity and access management, National Security Agency

3 technologies law enforcement will need this year

May 11, 2017 by Tomas O'Keefe Leave a comment

By Tom O’Keefe, consultant

Law enforcement agencies are facing a myriad of challenges today, and they’ll be looking toward new technologies like artificial intelligence to help meet mission needs.

That was the message from government panelists at this week’s AFCEA Bethesda’s Law Enforcement & Public Safety Technology Forum. While the challenges raised by government are nothing new, interest in new solutions to these problems was expressed by leaders from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.

Each of these solutions has one common theme: ways in which law enforcement agencies can better manage, integrate and understand the massive amounts of data they collect in their day-to-day operations.

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Filed under Market Intelligence, Sales Tagged with AFCEA, artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, data management, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, law enforcement, social media analytics

What to watch now that we have a federal budget

May 9, 2017 by Chris Wiedemann Leave a comment

By Chris Wiedemann, consultant

Last Friday, as the rain pounded the Washington, D.C. region, my colleague, Tom O’Keefe, and I huddled in a recording studio to chat with Mark Amtower on federal IT trends for his Amtower Off-Center show.

The 45-minute segment was posted here yesterday. Here are highlights of what we think the IT industry needs to know now that there’s a budget in place for the rest of the year.

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Filed under Market Intelligence, Public Policy Tagged with border security, Cloud, cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security, electronic health records, Enterprise Mobility, Federal budget, NASA, Omnibus, Veterans Affairs

Is IT modernization on the horizon?

May 4, 2017 by Stephanie Meloni Leave a comment

By Stephanie Meloni, consultant

With lawmakers voting later this week on the $1 trillion bipartisan budget deal, the battle over funding for the remainder of FY17 may be settled fairly peacefully.

If this omnibus passes, it will largely spare civilian agencies from deep cuts in funding. It also includes some interesting features technology companies will want to take note of that will impact IT budgets and priorities.

The omnibus includes no funding for the construction of a border wall but does include $1.5 billion for border security measures, which would include infrastructure and surveillance technologies. This will create opportunities around the internet of things (IoT)—collecting, integrating, securing, storing and analyzing relevant surveillance data. Getting involved early with IoT opportunities will be important as adoption picks up down the line and will give companies with solutions a chance to cite and build upon previous successes.

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Filed under Public Policy Tagged with American Technology Council, border security, Cyber Crime, cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security, Federal budget, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet of Things, MGT Act, Modernizing Government IT Act, Omnibus

5 DHS opportunities in the president’s proposed budget

March 24, 2017 by Tomas O'Keefe Leave a comment

Tom O'Keefe By Tom O’Keefe, consultant

One of the few civilian agencies that likely won’t have its budget cut is the Department of Homeland Security. What’s less clear is exactly how the funding breaks down for DHS components.

The Trump administration’s plan to direct more funds to Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement by heavily reducing the budgets of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration are likely non-starters for congressional appropriators.

However, looking at the FY17 budget amendment and the FY18 budget request, we can get an idea of where some additional technology opportunities might appear at the department. The FY17 budget amendment requests $3 billion extra for DHS, with a third of that going to CBP to begin construction of the border wall. The FY18 “skinny” budget has a few more clues for where we might see increased investment at DHS:

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Filed under Market Intelligence, Public Policy Tagged with Analytics, Big Data, border security, cybersecurity, Department of Homeland Security, Federal budget, infrastructure, President Trump

Trump has a cybersecurity plan and it needs your help

February 1, 2017 by Lloyd McCoy Jr. Leave a comment

blog-eocyber By Lloyd McCoy Jr., DOD manager

We got a sneak peek this week into what the Trump administration is thinking about with its cybersecurity strategy and it appears there won’t be a major departure from previous administrations.

The Washington Post obtained a copy of a draft executive order on strengthening U.S. cybersecurity and capabilities that President Trump was scheduled to sign yesterday, but the event was postponed.

What I was able to glean from the draft is that it reaffirms cybersecurity as a preeminent national interest and its emergence as a new domain, comparable to air, land, sea and space. In order to protect this interest, the order endorses the “full spectrum” of capabilities to defend U.S. cyber interests, suggesting a policy that embraces both cyber-defensive and offensive toolsets.

In line with the previous two administrations, the order also emphasized protecting both public and private critical infrastructure. While none of this is a major departure, there are a couple of provisions in the draft order that impact the IT community.

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Filed under Market Intelligence, Public Policy, Sales Tagged with Critical Infrastructure, cybersecurity, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, executive order, National Security Agency, national security systems, President Trump, Strengthening U.S. Cyber Security and Capabilities

What you need to know about Trump’s plan for government

January 25, 2017 by Chris Wiedemann Leave a comment

Chris Wiedemann_65 x 85

By Chris Wiedemann, consultant

Trying to read the tea leaves on the Trump administration’s technology priorities has been a challenge for all of us in the industry. But we got a little more clarity on how the new administration would like to manage the executive branch with a report last week outlining a new budget, including appropriations language that President Trump plans to submit in “mid to late April.”

While we haven’t seen the budget itself (and, as always, the appropriations committees will have significant input into the process), reading the Heritage Foundation report that Trump’s budget is purportedly based on reveals some potentially dramatic changes to executive agencies, particularly in the civilian sector. Those potential changes include:

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