President Obama has tasked a member of former President Bush’s administration to continue her efforts to tighten military and governmental security. Melissa Hathaway has already spent two years in the trenches tightening up government cyber security after multiple breaches. Problems exist, and will likewise continue, in an environment where older equipment and software are being used. There are some wonderful tools for security out there, but only so much can be done on older equipment running older software.
I wish I could feel secure that the government is on the leading edge of technology when it comes to not only equipment but to software. I’ve heard some horror stories about what is available to people working in government offices today. While the rest of us are on the latest and greatest, for the most part, our government lumbers along on outdated dinosauresque equipment and protocols.
I am always surprised at what government doesn’t know, or doesn’t have a handle on. Maybe it is because government is so large, that they can’t find a good way to keep up with technology. Bigger isn’t always better. But at some point, they do need to catch up, and I think we need more than a Czar of Cybersecurity to make it happen.