Government/Military Trends
March 2003
IT’s Increasing Role in Homeland Security
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Maintaining the security of a nation as vast as the United States is without a doubt a daunting task. While the 22 agencies forming the newly created Department of Homeland Security have deep levels of experience in administering security measures in their particular area of expertise; such as the Coast Guard in relation to the nation’s ports and coastline or the Transportation Security Administration ensuring the security of the country’s transportation systems; it is the linking together of these knowledge bases that can create a security net greater than the sum of its parts.
To aid in this effort, the new Department of Homeland Security is putting an increasing emphasis on information technology. In the recently submitted federal budget for fiscal 2004, $3.75 billion is slated for IT spending by the department. Overall, the budget calls for $59 billion to be spent by the federal government on IT in fiscal 2004, up from $53 billion in 2003. According to analysis by the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA), much of this funding will be used on homeland security initiatives and agency upgrades. Spending on IT in other parts of the government will slow or decrease to make up for the increasing emphasis on defense and security.
While spending on IT projects is definitely on the rise, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is keeping a watchful eye over expenditures. The budget for fiscal 2004 includes 1,400 projects worth $35 billion, but 771 of those are on what the office calls the “at-risk list.” This list includes projects with weak business cases or those with inadequate IT security. Until agencies can address their projects’ weaknesses and submit successful business cases for them, OMB will continue to withhold money for these mission-critical projects. Additionally, OMB will focus on ensuring that the various formerly separate agencies now part of the Department of Homeland Security will make wise IT investments.
“They’re really pushing commonality as much as possible in between agencies to get more commonality of systems so people aren’t reinventing the wheel and spending more money than they should be,” says Dan Heinemeier, president, GEIA.
Securing Cyberspace
Meanwhile, the recent release of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace gives an indication of how the Department of Homeland Security plans on using its IT resources. The plan outlines five national priorities:
- A cyberspace security response system
- A cyberspace security threat and vulnerability reduction program
- A security awareness and training program
- A plan for securing governments’ cyberspace
- A strategy for preventing attacks through national and international cooperation
Many of the strategies identified in the plan rely on technologies in use in the private sector; others depend upon a strong relationship between the government and private sector companies. The plan discusses how this relationship can take a number of forms, including awareness, training, technological improvements, vulnerability remediation, and recovery operations. Government activities, it says, will be centered on forensics and attack attribution; protecting networks and systems key to national security; providing attack warnings; and protecting against attacks aimed at damaging the economy.