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Parham Eftekhari: Is Government Cybersecurity Broken?
Parham Eftekhari: Is Government Cybersecurity Broken?
… the Internet is not something that you just dump something on.
It's not a big truck.
It's a series of tubes.
-- former Senator Ted Stevens, 2006
This photo… is not a photo of the internet… in case you were wondering.
Do we really want to trust that our elected officials have the slightest idea of what to do with regards to cybersecurity? Whether it is election meddling, attempts to hack voting facilities or data breaches of personnel records… this is territory that needs detailed research and expert analysis.
The current administration proposed an overall federal cybersecurity budget of $17.4 billion, which is an increase from the estimated $16.6 billion in fiscal 2019. Under this proposal, Civilian agencies overall would receive $7.79 billion which is roughly 1.5 percent below current levels.
If that number seems odd, that’s probably okay considering how much attention cybersecurity is attracting. However, it could have been worse, given the current administration’s general desire to trim civilian-agency spending. The White House is proposing to reduce overall non-defense spending by 5 percent.
With just a little bit of focus, we can discern that an agency was more likely to be proposed for an increase if it works on national security in some way. Cybersecurity efforts at the Departments of Energy, Justice and State all saw increases of over 7% or more.
Cyber programs at the Office of Personnel Management, which is under close scrutiny for how it protects the data of federal employees, saw a 4% increase to $47 million. You may recall the famous OPM data breach a few years back that put over 21 Million records into the wild
Oh… and… not for nothing… but it was Cylance that fixed that one…
In this episode of the InSecurity Podcast, Matt Stephenson welcomes ICIT Executive Director Parham Eftekhari for a chat about what is happening in Washington when it comes to American policies on Cybersecurity. We take a look at the key pillars of Technology, Budget, Lobbying/Partisan politics and Legislation. Wanna drain the swamp? Take a listen first.
About Parham Eftekhari
Parham Eftekhari (@icitorg) is the Executive Director of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), the nation’s leading cybersecurity Think Tank whose mission is to improve the resiliency of the country’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors and empower generations of cybersecurity leaders. Leveraging 15 years of technology industry experience, Parham advises the world’s top public and private sector cybersecurity leaders, manages strategic alliances, executes business strategies, and builds meaningful thought leadership and educational programs.
Parham has organized, led or contributed to over 100 cybersecurity briefings and events at institutions including Congress, TEDx, C-SPAN and the World Bank, and regularly speaks to the media on cybersecurity issues.
About Matt Stephenson
Insecurity Podcast host Matt Stephenson (@packmatt73) leads the Security Technology team at Cylance, which puts him in front of crowds, cameras, and microphones all over the world. He is the regular host of the InSecurity podcast and host of CylanceTV
Twenty years of work with the world’s largest security, storage, and recovery companies has introduced Stephenson to some of the most fascinating people in the industry. He wants to get those stories told so that others can learn from what has come
Every week on the InSecurity Podcast, Matt interviews leading authorities in the security industry to gain an expert perspective on topics including risk management, security control friction, compliance issues, and building a culture of security. Each episode provides relevant insights for security practitioners and business leaders working to improve their organization’s security posture and bottom line.
Can’t get enough of Insecurity? You can find us at ThreatVector InSecurity Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and GooglePlay as well as Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, I Heart Radio and wherever you get your podcasts!
Make sure you Subscribe, Rate and Review!
View all episodes
By Matt StephensonParham Eftekhari: Is Government Cybersecurity Broken?
… the Internet is not something that you just dump something on.
It's not a big truck.
It's a series of tubes.
-- former Senator Ted Stevens, 2006
This photo… is not a photo of the internet… in case you were wondering.
Do we really want to trust that our elected officials have the slightest idea of what to do with regards to cybersecurity? Whether it is election meddling, attempts to hack voting facilities or data breaches of personnel records… this is territory that needs detailed research and expert analysis.
The current administration proposed an overall federal cybersecurity budget of $17.4 billion, which is an increase from the estimated $16.6 billion in fiscal 2019. Under this proposal, Civilian agencies overall would receive $7.79 billion which is roughly 1.5 percent below current levels.
If that number seems odd, that’s probably okay considering how much attention cybersecurity is attracting. However, it could have been worse, given the current administration’s general desire to trim civilian-agency spending. The White House is proposing to reduce overall non-defense spending by 5 percent.
With just a little bit of focus, we can discern that an agency was more likely to be proposed for an increase if it works on national security in some way. Cybersecurity efforts at the Departments of Energy, Justice and State all saw increases of over 7% or more.
Cyber programs at the Office of Personnel Management, which is under close scrutiny for how it protects the data of federal employees, saw a 4% increase to $47 million. You may recall the famous OPM data breach a few years back that put over 21 Million records into the wild
Oh… and… not for nothing… but it was Cylance that fixed that one…
In this episode of the InSecurity Podcast, Matt Stephenson welcomes ICIT Executive Director Parham Eftekhari for a chat about what is happening in Washington when it comes to American policies on Cybersecurity. We take a look at the key pillars of Technology, Budget, Lobbying/Partisan politics and Legislation. Wanna drain the swamp? Take a listen first.
About Parham Eftekhari
Parham Eftekhari (@icitorg) is the Executive Director of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), the nation’s leading cybersecurity Think Tank whose mission is to improve the resiliency of the country’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors and empower generations of cybersecurity leaders. Leveraging 15 years of technology industry experience, Parham advises the world’s top public and private sector cybersecurity leaders, manages strategic alliances, executes business strategies, and builds meaningful thought leadership and educational programs.
Parham has organized, led or contributed to over 100 cybersecurity briefings and events at institutions including Congress, TEDx, C-SPAN and the World Bank, and regularly speaks to the media on cybersecurity issues.
About Matt Stephenson
Insecurity Podcast host Matt Stephenson (@packmatt73) leads the Security Technology team at Cylance, which puts him in front of crowds, cameras, and microphones all over the world. He is the regular host of the InSecurity podcast and host of CylanceTV
Twenty years of work with the world’s largest security, storage, and recovery companies has introduced Stephenson to some of the most fascinating people in the industry. He wants to get those stories told so that others can learn from what has come
Every week on the InSecurity Podcast, Matt interviews leading authorities in the security industry to gain an expert perspective on topics including risk management, security control friction, compliance issues, and building a culture of security. Each episode provides relevant insights for security practitioners and business leaders working to improve their organization’s security posture and bottom line.
Can’t get enough of Insecurity? You can find us at ThreatVector InSecurity Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and GooglePlay as well as Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, I Heart Radio and wherever you get your podcasts!
Make sure you Subscribe, Rate and Review!