Cybersecurity touches almost every aspect of modern life and permeates many fields beyond technology, including homeland security, law enforcement, national security, foreign policy, the economy, and even emergency response. In developing the Fiscal Year 2014 Cybersecurity budget, the nation identified the top four cyber risks as: Attacks against critical infrastructure, cyber-enabled economic espionage, efforts to censor and constrain the internet, and traditional espionage. The principles shaping the administration’s approach to Cybersecurity include the whole-of-government approach, public-private collaboration, International cooperation and engagement, network defense first, and privacy and civil rights.
The top three Federal Technology Objectives are defined as Delivering, Innovating, and Protecting. Federal technology delivers by improving the return on the investment (ROI) in Federal Information Technology, innovates for the American people and protects by advancing our Nation’s Cybersecurity.
For the past five years, federal cyber-related spending and performance reporting have been organized around the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). CNCI focused principally on increasing the security of Federal networks and achieving several short-term cybersecurity goals. For the Fiscal Year 2014 Cybersecurity Budget, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Security Staff (NSS) partnered to reorganize tracking for Federal cyber-related spending according to a new structure intended to more effectively measure spending, manage results, and invest strategically. This approach strengthens the linkage among cyber investment across agencies. Relatively small investments in one agency represent key enablers for large investments in other departments and agencies.
The major Federal cyber spending categories include: Preventing malicious cyber activity, shaping the Cybersecurity environment, detecting, analyzing, and mitigating intrusions. The Federal government plans to spend approximately $13 billion in Fiscal Year 2014 on Cybersecurity. [2] The budget supports the expansion of government-wide efforts to counter the full scope of cyber threats, and strengthens the ability to collaborate with State and local governments, partners overseas, and the private sector to improve our overall cybersecurity. This reflects the fact that cybersecurity continues to be a strategic concern for federal agencies.
The Administration’s Cyber Policy Priorities for Fiscal Year 2014 include:
- Securing Federal Networks
- Protecting Critical Infrastructure
- Improve Incident Response
- Engage Internationally
- Shaping the Future
To protect against evolving cyber threats and meet the growing technological needs of government and industry, the Federal government is continuing to highlight the importance of cyber education and workforce development. The government works closely with its partners in the private sector as well as state and local governments to educate and engage the next generation of cyber professionals. Electrosoft Services looks forward to working with the Federal government not only to educate and engage our cyber professionals, but also to explore additional opportunities in the field of Cybersecurity in Fiscal Year 2014.
Comments and interpretations from our readers are welcome. Please Contact Us for any additional information.
- Justin Davis
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[1] FCW | Budget Cybersecurity | April 12, 2013