The Need to Think Differently About Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a constantly-evolving field, and the level of threats and the potential damage they can cause are always increasing. The mission to protect data is more important — and more difficult — than ever before. How an agency handles sensitive data is often central to its ability to fulfill its mission. Unfortunately, the way we approach cybersecurity is often counterproductive, driving the need for a new way of thinking.

Threats come in many forms inside and outside agency walls. External threats such as hackers are frequently top-of-mind, garnering headlines with every successful attack. Typically, the methods used to protect against these attacks, such as anti-malware and anti-virus solutions, are reactive and signature based. This means they need to recognize an existing attack signature before engaging protection. Additionally, threats adapt, and these solutions are estimated to fail up to 50 percent of the time – meaning a more proactive defense is needed.

The methods used to combat internal threats are similarly outdated. More and more, employees are becoming more mobile, and need to work and access data on multiple devices outside of the office. Obviously, this presents many security challenges, but employees shouldn’t be impeded from doing their jobs because their organization’s cyber defense is cemented in the past. Locking down data isn’t effective; employees will reject any security methods that hamper them from fulfilling their responsibilities. Similar to external threats, a new approach is required with internal ones.

Government agencies are notoriously slow to change, but the status quo is no longer tenable. Luckily, agencies don’t have to face these threats alone or develop new defenses themselves. Choosing the right partner to work with — one that puts substance over style and lists data protection as its ultimate goal — is critical. With how quickly threats can adapt and evolve, it is important to find a partner with a proven history of success that can tailor solutions to specific agencies and allow them to continue to work as effectively as possible.

It’s time for government to embrace a new understanding of security and data protection and utilize modern approaches that have proven to work in the private sector. Cybersecurity efforts need to be as agile and innovative as the threats they protect against.

Read the full white paper to learn how a different way of thinking can help government agencies better protect against internal and external threats.

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