What is the U.S. Government’s Role in Cybersecurity? Posted on : Sep 01 - 2015

As the Internet evolves, so do the threats lurking within it. But this ongoing evolution raises a larger question: Who is really responsible for bolstering private and public defenses? Is the Wild West approach to the Web going to cut it in the long run, or will someone have to take the lead when it comes to a national cybersecurity game plan?

As it stands, it could be argued that cybersecurity in the United States boils down to an “every man for himself” approach. For the most part, companies operate independently of one another and the government; and the same is true in reverse. But has this approach been effective? Recent large-scale data breaches of the Office of Personnel Management and the IRS have prompted renewed consideration of the topic.

Alan Webber is the lead researcher behind an International Data Corp. (IDC) 2015 report, Business Strategy: Defining the U.S. Government Role in Cybersecurity, which tackles whether the government needs to drive modernization into the next generation of national cybersecurity.

“Basically cybersecurity has gone beyond being just a government problem or a private-sector problem,” Webber said. “For a long time we thought if we built a big enough wall, we could keep [intruders] out, and that’s not the case anymore.”  View more