Tag Archives: network

CDM – Concentrating on the How of Cybersecurity

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The Department of Homeland Security's Continuous Diagnostic Mitigation Program (CDM) was developed as a guideline process for agencies to fortify their ongoing cybersecurity plans and tactics. Agencies have worked through the stages of the program, first identifying what and who is on their network and then looking at what is happening on the network - really identifying the who, what, when, and where. Today, the focus is to put all that information to work in developing plans that address the "how" of secure networks including:

  • Reduce agency threat surface
  • Increase visibility into the federal cybersecurity posture
  • Improve federal cybersecurity response capabilities
  • Streamline Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) reporting

According to a recent survey, in the seven years since its inception, the CDM program has met its mission of making government IT systems more secure. But this success does not mean the work is done. Legislation has been introduced that will make CDM permanent and expand its reach to meet the ongoing cyber threats that face government agencies. Moving forward, the CDM will help agencies focus on taking what has traditionally been a piecemeal approach to cybersecurity and creating a more integrated approach that ties to the an overall cyber strategy.

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Getting (Vendor) Certified

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We've written before about the importance of certifications for expanding your knowledge base and helping you stand out among competition when looking for new career opportunities. As we highlighted in that post, industry certifications show mastery of a certain skill area from security to project management to database administration. Today we want to highlight the power of vendor-specific certifications for your career.[Tweet "Getting Vendor Certified -- The power of vendor-specific certifications for your career. #GovEventsBlog"]

Much like we wrote about the value of vendor-led events, there is a tangible benefit in being certified in specific technologies as there's no escaping the major technology vendors. Their technology is in place across the government and oftentimes is providing the platform on which entire IT infrastructures are designed. Doing a deep dive and getting certified in a technology that is critical to your agency makes you a key resource for ensuring that the systems that rely on that vendor keep running and evolving.

Based on what we see in the market, here are some recommendations of vendor certifications that can add to your knowledge-base as well as your value to current and future employers.[Tweet "Recommendations of vendor certifications that can add to your knowledge-base. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Behind the Curtain: 2016 Federal Forum

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FedForumFor this edition of "Behind the Curtain" we're taking a look at the 2016 Federal Forum taking place on June 14 in Washington, D.C. The Federal Forum, sponsored by Brocade and produced by FedScoop, is in its fifth year and provides a unique platform for government and industry to discuss network modernization. The network infrastructure is 20 years old and today's environment demands that data be available anywhere anytime. The network must be able to reach the efficiency and speed needed to support mobility as well as cloud.

This event is focused on defining and discussing the New IP Network that begins with infrastructure upgrades to fabric-based physical networks and evolves to software defined virtual services and advanced methods of control and orchestration.  This network evolution can deliver the rich performance and experience that federal end users, citizens, and war fighters demand.[Tweet "The 2016 Federal Forum is focused on IP network evolutions for #Fed users and beyond. #GovEventsBlog"]

The 1,000 attendees include a mix of government and industry but they all share a focus on the network. Outside of the three government keynotes and a special presentation on Machine Learning, the event is divided into a general session track with numerous government/industry panels and a technical track giving attendees the depth of discussion that applies to their position.

We spoke with Ginger Kessler, Federal Marketing for Brocade, to get a sense of what we can expect from this year's event and see what goes into planning this network-focused event.[Tweet "Brocade's Ginger Kessler provides a look inside the 5th Federal Forum. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Fed Forum 2013 Videos and Briefings Posted

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Originally posted by Bob Gourley on CTOvision

One of the challenges in very popular events like the FedForum is the breakout sessions are all worth attending but you can't be in more than one place at the same time. Fortunately much of the content from these sessions has been captured. You can see video and download slides from all the sessions.

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