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Return to Article: FEATURES The Forest And the Trees

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  The timing and content of this article could not have been more timely. I was just putting the finishing touches to my agency's Information Systems Management Strategic Plan, when one of my planning team members sent me this article. The story basically reinforced the approach we took to developing a business-driven strategic plan for developing and managing our IT resources more strategically around our core business processes. It was most gratifying to see that we are on the right track. For much of the time, it felt like we were just making up our planning process as we went along-feeling like we were in new territory as we pioneered this new approach. I am very interested in meeting with the CIOs mentioned in the article to see if we overlooked anything in our plan.

  Jane Berkow Posted March 20, 2008 3:24 PM
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  This article most interesting and insightful. As someone who has visited with numerous government agencies chartered to provide security to their users (i.e. clients), I have often come away from meetings shaking my head in dismay. In far too many circumstances, the "leaders" of these very large organizations are not interested in achieving true information security, but rather on checking off a box that allows them to pass a compliance test.

  In the commercial world, this approach would fail miserably: When information is stolen, heads roll. In the government space, where information security is critical on so many levels, no action is taken as long as outdated and useless compliance reports show that the offending organization earned a passing grade in its last review.

  In an age where cyber crime is a great threat, Congress needs to legislate that agencies responsible for protecting information are reviewed on their actual results. This kind of action will force bureaucrats to review and deploy products, like RazorThreat's, that are capable of dramatically enhancing the security of government networks. Government agencies should be taking a leadership role for the country in how true security can be achieved, but this will not happen under the current rules.

  I applaud shining a light on just how backward the current thinking is on this crucial topic. Keep up the good work.

  Jennifer Cornell Posted March 10, 2008 2:38 PM