It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 10 years since the Federal Information Security and Management Act (FISMA) was enacted.  I know that I am growing older but it seems like only yesterday that staff working for former U.S. Representative Tom Davis (the lead sponsor of FISMA legislation in 2002) were in the throes of ...

When the House Republican Cybersecurity Task Force released its recommendations last October, U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry (R-TX), the Chairman of the Task Force said that the time had come for the U.S. Congress to act on cyber security legislation.  In a blog post on October 11th, 2011, he stated: “We simply cannot allow legislative gridlock to continue ...

It’s difficult to go anywhere today without a CCTV camera picking up your movement and storing these images for the future. Advancements in DNA and positive identification are such that crimes committed over 30 years ago are being solved as technology provides the means to identify the previously anonymous. Across the US and the diverse ...

Just like I did for FISMA, I wanted to review the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program Security Controls (FedRAMP), and provide you with my view of it. As stated on GSA’s website, FedRAMP is “a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. ...

As I think about the future of Cloud computing, EMC’s tightly integrated solutions with VMware have created a great operational strategy for leveraging advanced management, monitoring and charge back products. EMC’s “Journey to the Cloud” has three unique phases:  1. The initial build out of utilizing virtualization, creating flexibility and elasticity within an IT infrastructure. ...

Last week, I was invited to co-present on a webcast hosted by Federal Computer Week entitled “The Keys to Successfully Transforming Your Data Center .”  We discussed strategies to improve the utilization, efficiency, and ROI of existing data center hardware and software. Federal agencies large and small are definitely feeling the heat to comply with Federal ...

With technologies from EMC, government agencies can leverage Big Data to support all aspects of critical agency programs with predictive, real-time insight. EMC understands that the success of government agencies should not be limited by systems and platforms that are unable to handle significant data volumes, which are necessary to make informed, accurate and efficient ...

I recently returned from Draper, Utah, where EMC celebrated the grand opening of our newest global customer support center. We hosted customers and partners, and were joined by Utah Governor Gary Herbert, whose administration worked with us to help make the decision to locate in the Beehive State – recently recognized by Forbes, Fortune, and ...

There is a glut of blogs, articles and ‘consultant’ reports, which in one way or another put a twist on the Cloud computing argument, the risks, the costs and whether or not it saves money. Certainly each is looking for its own angle and in their own way each has something to say. We’ll get ...

Note: Bits & Bytes is a new reoccurring column featuring interesting figures in the security industry.  The intent is to provide a quick interview that allows readers to learn more about the interview subject and their views of our industry.  This edition features Mischel Kwon. About Mischel:  Mischel Kwon is an IT executive with more ...