The Digital Transformation Government’s use of digital technology has been growing over the past four decades, both in the office and for delivering services to citizens. But advances in digital networking and the applications riding on them are coming now at speeds and on a scale that are unprecedented.
“What we are seeing today is a pace of growth beyond anything we have seen in the past 40 years. We are experiencing exponential growth in digitization,” said Anthony Grieco, Senior Director of Cisco’s Security and Trust organization. This digital transformation means that technology is not only ubiquitous, it is becoming critical in our lives and in the way we do business. Fifteen years ago it probably did not matter if an e-mail was not delivered, as it wasn’t the primary way to pass information. Today, e-mail, text messaging, online conferencing and collaboration are critical to missions at every level of government. Agencies no longer conduct business at the speed of paper; they operate at the speed of light. Citizens demand the convenience of online interaction with agencies, and expect security and privacy. Access to people, information and resources at any time from any place is no longer a mere convenience. It is a requirement. “Every day we are becoming more fundamentally dependent on this technology,” Grieco said.
Opportunities and Challenges Like many advances, the digital transformation is a two-edged sword, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Coworkers no longer need to be in the same room to provide input and exchange ideas. Business travel no longer is the necessity it once was, and work has become something you do, not a place you go. Data can be stored, retrieved, searched and analyzed on a scale that was not possible a few years ago, adding value to the vast amounts of information now being gathered. Citizens no longer have to travel to government offices to receive services, and workers no longer have to meet face-to-face with citizens to provide help and information. But the cyberthreat landscape also is changing rapidly. Attacks are constant, and threats are becoming more complex and sophisticated. A network breach today is no longer an inconvenience; it can derail operations, disrupt the lives of millions of individuals and undermine trust in our governments. Despite increasing attention to cybersecurity by governments, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT) received 75,087 incident reports in fiscal year 2015, a 12 percent increase from the previous year and 29 percent above fiscal year 2013. These reports do not all represent serious security breaches, but the largest increases were in high-volume network scans and probes. In other words, publicsector networks today are under nearly constant surveillance and attack by adversaries ranging from casual hackers to organized criminal gangs, from terrorist organizations to nation states. Although the digital transformation is expanding the online attack surface, it also can provide improved cybersecurity. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace to counter these threats. A security-driven network refresh to replace outdated equipment can help eliminate vulnerabilities and mitigate risks, and also allow agencies to take advantage of the efficiencies and functionality of new technology to improve both their economy and productivity.
CYBERSECURITY RISK: THE DRIVER FOR IT MODERNIZATION
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