Agency Trust + Risk Reduction = FedRAMP Ready!

by Juanita Koilpillai | Oct 10, 2016 | Blog Posts

An article in FCW, FedRAMP Ready or FedRAMP Irrelevant? examined the current FedRAMP authorization environment and how delays are exacerbated when the process has be repeated by multiple agencies for an already proven solution. It noted … No matter how many...

WANTED – Security solution for workflows across multiple cloud APIs

by Juanita Koilpillai | Sep 22, 2016 | Blog Posts

A recent article in Government Computer News, Agencies push for open standards across cloud services, addressed the problems being posed by lack of industry standards for workloads across multiple clouds. The article was generated from discussions at a MeriTalk...

New IG must shift Agencies focus to better understand risk profiles to protect their critical assets and infrastructure

by Juanita Koilpillai | Sep 19, 2016 | Blog Posts

Earlier this summer, FCW reported how Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was proposing a major shift from the current practice of having each federal agency’s inspector general (IG) handle security inquiries. Whitehouse recommended that there be a single inspector...

2016 Ron Knode Service Award

by Juanita Koilpillai | Sep 16, 2016 | Blog Posts

Wow! It is an incredible honor to be recognized as a 2016 Ron Knode Service Award recipient. This award from the Cloud Security Alliance is a wonderful tribute to Ron Knode’s passion for volunteerism.  As a member of the CSA, he was the creator of the CSA Cloud...

FedRAMP should look at connection-based, application-centric architecture to simplify compliance capabilities

by Juanita Koilpillai | Aug 23, 2016 | Blog Posts

FedRAMP continues to evolve with expectations for process improvements fanning a raging debate depending upon your perspective. The intent of FedRAMP, to modernize and streamline best practices and standards for the secure adoption of the cloud in the government...

Risky clicks mean risky business

by Juanita Koilpillai | Aug 16, 2016 | Blog Posts

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in late June noted findings from a security survey of “high impact systems” holding sensitive information “the loss of which could cause individuals, the government or the nation catastrophic harm.” It noted that the 24...

When it comes to protecting critical infrastructure, a software defined perimeter is a better solution than a gateway

by Juanita Koilpillai | Aug 9, 2016 | Blog Posts

A recent PBS News program “White House Chronicle” featured cyber security experts focused on increasing security threats to the power grid. Scott Aronson is the EEIs lead expert on cybersecurity and physical security and Paul Feldman is a board member at the Midwest...

To protect the nations’ power grid, “monitor what matters”

by Juanita Koilpillai | Aug 4, 2016 | Blog Posts

According to new research in a Booz Allen Hamilton report, threats to the energy industry continue to escalate. As the grid gets smarter, threats increase, including damage to electrical equipment, local power outages, operational halts to production, and more. There...

Proactive testing not enough…Proactive mitigation would have helped Palantir more

by Juanita Koilpillai | Jul 29, 2016 | Blog Posts

Recent press coverage of Palantir, a $20 billion Silicon Valley data analysis firm being hacked in a test environment is not really news. The story, reported in BuzzFeed, How Hired Hackers Got “Complete Control” Of Palantir, detailed how Palantir hired a cybersecurity...

DDoS Researchers Are Number One Target for DDoS Attack – Show us the risk profiles!

by Juanita Koilpillai | Jul 7, 2016 | Blog Posts

A recent quarterly report focused on distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks found that security researchers working to detect and blunt cyber attacks are now the number one target for DDoS attack. The report from NexusGuard should not come as a surprise. For the...

DARPA’s Cautious Position on AI and the Emergence of Knowledge Processing

by Jack Beavers | Jun 30, 2016 | Blog Posts

A recent article in GCN, “DARPA director clear eyed and cautious on AI”, by Mark Pomerleau, illustrated DARPA’s knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and a need to be cautious. Key points from the article include: AI needs machines to automatically...

Securing the IoT

by Juanita Koilpillai | Jun 23, 2016 | Blog Posts

A recent article in TechTarget, “IoT Security Issues Unplugged,” looked at the massive security challenges emerging and being created by the Internet of Things (IoT). Robert Richardson, editorial director of TechTarget’s Security Media Group, clearly pointed out...

The increasing need to manage digital risk – Lesson learned from 18F

by Juanita Koilpillai | Jun 16, 2016 | Blog Posts

A few weeks ago Washington Technology reported that 18F, a digital services agency whose mission is to field technology solutions quickly for Federal Government agencies, had been hacked and was being investigated by the agency’s inspector general. The problem stemmed...

Forget Tokens … Here comes the Authenticator!

by Juanita Koilpillai | Jun 9, 2016 | Blog Posts

NIST recently announced it is undertaking a “transformational change” to its digital authentication guidelines. NIST is currently accepting comments being submitted over GitHub that will be followed by the more traditional public comment period later this summer. The...

Software Defined Network (SDN) or Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) … what’s the difference?

by Juanita Koilpillai | May 25, 2016 | Blog Posts

I often get a quizzical look when I first mention the Software Defined Perimeter. The reaction is typically, “Is that the same thing as a software defined network?” This is understandable because Software Defined Perimeters (SDP) are new while Software Defined...