Government Information Security Podcast

The former Air Force assistant secretary for manpower, reserve affairs, installation and environment sees information technology as shaping the way government workers perform their jobs. No longer are jobs aligned with a predefined assignment, but are dynamic, requiring critical thinking and the ability to navigate technology to determine how best to perform a variety of tasks.

Now, a senior adviser to the consultancy Deloitte, DeMesme has written a paper entitled "Equipping the Federal Workforce for the Cyber Age," in which IT security plays a critical factor.

In the interview, DeMesme explains the:

GovInfoSecurity.com's Eric Chabrow interviewed DeMesme.

DeMesme was named Air Force assistant secretary in 1998, where she directed and managed Air Force human resources management policies and programs for more than 2 million active and reserve members, civilians and families. She oversaw strategic planning on issues including recruitment, training, retention and separation policies and programs.

During her 22-year tenure with the Department of Defense, DeMesme regularly testified before Congress and worked with lawmakers and other government officials to secure funding for military benefits programs. She also served as a senior adviser on military matters to former Sen. John Glenn, D.-Ohio.

DeMesme graduated magna cum laude from St. Augustine's College and was awarded a master of social work degree from the University of North Carolina.

"The more functionality that's there, the more ways there are for an attacker to get it to operate it in way that no one ever conceived," Dickie George, the National Security Agency's Information Assurance Directorate technical director, said in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com. "The better the system is, the more interesting it is, the more capability it has, the more opportunities there are for an attacker to find the way in. We are notorious for always needing new types of functionality. We want our equipment to do be able to do more things, and every time we increase the functionality, we allow for problems."

In the first of a two-part interview with GovInfoSecurity.com's Eric Chabrow, George discusses:

Part two of the interview, George discusses the challenge of recruiting qualified IT security experts for government.

George began at the National Security Agency in August 1970 after graduating from Dartmouth College. He started in the Crypto-Math Intern Program, having tours in Research, the SIGINT Directorate and the Information Assurance Directorate's predecessor organization. Except for a tour in the Signals Intelligence Directorate and one at the Center for Communications Research in Princeton, he has worked in the Information Assurance Directorate's since 1973, and has served as its technical director since 2003.

Special Publication 800-37, Revision 1, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach, encourages continual system authorization by implementing robust continuous monitoring processes.

Why is this revision of SP 800-37 significant? Here's Ross' response:

In the interview, Ross also addresses:

Ross was interviewed by GovInfoSecurity.com managing editor Eric Chabrow.

(Earlier this year, in another interview with GovInfoSecurity.com, Ross discussed the challenges of achieving a totally secure IT system. Click here for the audio and here for a transcript.)

Ross also supports the State Department in the international outreach program for information security and critical infrastructure protection. He previously served as the director of the National Information Assurance Partnership, a joint activity of NIST and the National Security Agency.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ross served in a variety of leadership and technical positions during his 20-year career in the Army. While assigned to the National Security Agency, he received the Scientific Achievement Award for his work on an interagency national security project and was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal upon his departure from the agency. He's a two-time recipient of the Federal 100 award for his leadership and technical contributions to critical information security projects affecting the federal government. During his military career, Ross served as a White House aide and as a senior technical advisor to the Department of the Army.

Ross is a graduate of the Program Management School at the Defense Systems Management College and holds a master and Ph.D. in computer science from the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

We posed these questions to J. Trevor Hughes, Executive Director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). In an exclusive interview, Hughes discusses:

Hughes is an attorney specializing in e-commerce, privacy and technology law. In his role as Executive Director of the IAPP, Hughes leads the world's largest association of privacy professionals.

Hughes has provided testimony before the U.S. Congress Commerce Committee, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and the EU Parliament on issues of privacy and data protection, spam prevention and privacy-sensitive technologies. He is a member of the first class of Certified Information Privacy Professionals (CIPPs) and is co-author (with D. Reed Freeman, Jr.) of "Privacy Law in Marketing" (CCH Wolters Kluwer, 2007).

User-centric identity refers to systems where users, rather than service providers, control their identity credentials.

"User-centric federated identity systems have the potential to improve the security and privacy of authentication and services for users, but if improperly designed, these systems can negatively impact users and become a burden instead," says white paper author Heather West, a CDT policy analyst.

In an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com, West explains:

West was interviewed by Eric Chabrow, managing editor of GovInfoSecurity.com.

This is the message from John Rossi, professor of systems management/information assurance at National Defense University.

In an exclusive interview, Rossi discusses:

Why security professionals should practice outreach;

Rossi is a Professor of Systems Management/Information Assurance in the Information Operations and Assurance Department at the National Defense University (NDU) Information Resources Management College (IRMC). Prior to joining the NDU/IRMC faculty, he was a computer scientist for information security, research, and training with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters. He was Security Division Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Weapons Production Security Assessments Program and National Program Manager for Computer Security Certification and Accreditation (C&A) with the U.S. Department of Defense during Desert Storm.

Asked, in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com whether the idea forwarded by Sen. Susan Collins, R.-Maine, was a good one, Hathaway responded:

Among the topics Hathaway addresses in the second of a two-part interview with GovInfoSecurity.com's Eric Chabrow:

In Part 1 of the interview (click here to listen), Hathaway said government and business must think creatively to help safeguard America's digital assets. She also addressed the critical posture of cybersecurity in the United States, the importance of government and private-sector collaboration on cybersecurity and the need to use the government's massive purchasing power to require security-ready IT wares.

President Obama in February named Hathaway White House acting senior director of cybersecurity and assigned her to lead a wide-ranging, interagency review the government's cybersecurity plans and activities. Her review resulted in the administration's cybersecurity policy agenda the president unveiled in May.

She resigned her White House job in August, and shortly thereafter started the consultancy, Hathaway Global Strategies, and this fall joined the Belfer Center for Science and International Affair at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as a senior adviser.

Hathaway is a protégé of retired Adm. Mike McConnell, who served until earlier this year as the National Intelligence director. Under McConnell, Hathaway served as a senior advisor and cyber coordination executive. She chaired the National Cyber Study Group, contributing to the development of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. That led to her appointment as director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force in January 2008. At the business consultancy Booz Allen, where she first worked with McConnell, Hathaway served as a cybersecurity strategist, leading the information operations and long-range strategy and policy support business units.

Hathaway holds a BA from American University and a special certificate in information operations at the U.S. Armed Force Staff College.

Hathaway, an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com, cited the innovative coupling of cell phone and global positioning technologies to authenticate a user withdrawing money from an ATM or making a credit card purchase. With the cell phone turned on, a GPS can verify that the consumer is where the transaction takes place.

"That's not what cell phones were originally designed for, but I thought it was a creative solution on how to defeat the fraud or at least make it much more complicated for the criminal or thieves to take our information or take our personal data," Hathaway said in a conversation with Eric Chabrow, GovInfoSecurity.com managing editor.

In the first of the two-part interview, Hathaway also discussed:

(Click here to listen to part 2 of the interview.)

President Obama in February assigned Hathaway to lead a wide-ranging, interagency review the government's cybersecurity plans and activities. Her review resulted in the administration's cybersecurity policy agenda the president unveiled in May.

Hathaway is a protégé of retired Adm. Mike McConnell, who served until earlier this year as the National Intelligence director. Under McConnell, Hathaway served as a senior advisor and cyber coordination executive. She chaired the National Cyber Study Group, contributing to the development of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. That led to her appointment as director of the Joint Interagency Cyber Task Force in January 2008. At the business consultancy Booz Allen, where she first worked with McConnell, Hathaway served as a cybersecurity strategist, leading the information operations and long-range strategy and policy support business units.

She resigned her White House job in August, and shortly thereafter started the consultancy, Hathaway Global Strategies, and this fall joined the Belfer Center for Science and International Affair at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as a senior adviser.

Hathaway holds a BA from American University and a special certificate in information operations at the U.S. Armed Force Staff College.

Patrick Grother is among the computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Information Technology Laboratory who are collaborating with their international colleagues to revise iris recognition standards and to advance iris images as the global interchange medium.

In an interview, Grother discusses:

Grother was interviewed by Eric Chabrow, GovInfoSecurity.com managing editor.

This is the perspective of careers coach Heidi Kraft, who says that today's senior leaders need to focus more on emotional intelligence and other "soft" qualities to be able to better recruit and retain quality employees.

In an exclusive interview, Kraft discusses:

Kraft is a Leadership and Career coach and founder of Kraft Your Success Coaching and Consulting.

Prior to launching her business, she spent 17 years on the agency side of the advertising industry, including a stint as SVP Media Director at Boston-based Hill Holliday, developing and implementing media strategies for high-profile clients such as Microsoft, Intel, Intuit, Siebel Systems, 24 Hour Fitness and Harley-Davidson.

She holds a CPCC (Certified Professional Coactive Coach) and is a graduate of the Coaches Training Institute's Leadership Program. She is also a member of the International Coaches Federation. Kraft serves on the BAARC board (Bay Area Advertising Relief Committee), a non-profit organization that helps individuals who face severe difficulty after job loss.