Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra provided the first public glimpse into a classified cybersecurity oversight program, designed to make sure federal agencies are making the proper headway in shoring up the protection of cyber networks.
Speaking at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association in Bethesda, Md., last week, Kundra provided a few details about the âCyberstatâ program, modeled on a similar program for IT projects, known as Techstat, itself, a pet project of the nationâs first chief information officer.
Of course, with the nationâs cybersecurity at stake, he couldnât say too much.
“The cyberstats are obviously classified because we’re dealing with very, very sensitive information,” he said, according to Federal News Radio.
The first Cyberstat session was held with the Education Department, he said, and it led to âgreat outcomes.â
âThe cyberstats are actually leading to very, very concrete actions and outcomes,â he added.
Federal News Radio reported the model program, along with continued investment in âcontinuous monitoringâ of federal networks, was part of the Office of Management and Budgetâs 2012 budget request.
The current, paperwork-heavy approach is not nimble enough for todayâs cyber threat climate.
Instead, he mentioned competing teams of inside hackers — red team vs. blue team — to find and plug holes in security.
Department of Homeland Security CIO Richard Spires said continuous monitoring will be more successful if federal agencies make their systemsâ architecture simpler, according to Federal News Radio. And, for that, he added, industry can help develop solutions.