Federal officials expect security compliance within a year

HERNDON, Va. -- A survey of federal officials who make decisions about information technology has found that 35 percent of them expect to achieve security compliance within the next 12 months.

The survey questioned officials at federal agencies about compliance with a 2002 law on information security management. Market Connections, an independent firm that does research on the federal IT market, asked about 17 requirements from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Most said they would be more than 50 percent compliant within 12 months.

"I was a little surprised," Market Connections President Lisa Dezzutti said. "More respondents than I thought said we'd be 50 percent or more compliant but not 100 percent compliant."

The officials reported the most progress in personal security, followed by identification and authentication. Loss of privacy and employee data ranked among the top security concerns of federal IT. Overall security architecture ranked at the bottom.

"While federal IT decision-makers have an eye on traditional components such as network firewalls and a growing demand for products that support existing equipment and security architecture, there is a definite lag in importance being placed on management issues such as compliance reporting," Dezzutti said.

Cisco Systems released the survey at its headquarters here on Wednesday. The company provides 54 percent of the federal government's network security, followed by Symantec with 15 percent.

Bruce Klein, Cisco's vice president of federal operations, said the survey validates the need for comprehensive information security solutions.

Some 90 percent of the 107 respondents from 28 federal agencies said compatibility with existing equipment and security architecture is "very or extremely important."

After releasing the survey, Cisco publicly demonstrated its secure wireless technology for the first time. The system is awaiting federal validation that the encryption technology works, a process that takes six to nine months and that the company hopes will be complete in April.

"Wireless has exploded in the commercial world, but it has been held back in the government," said Daniel Klein, Cisco's director of systems engineers. "Come April, we will start to see the growth of wireless in the federal market."

Klein said Cisco demonstrated it for the Defense Department two months ago, and they are waiting for it because certain agencies have not been able to deploy wireless technology until it is certified.