Napolitano: Cybersecurity Is a Public-Private Challenge for All

A look at the week of May 3 in public advocacy for the IT channel

This week U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano discussed the need for cybersecurity tactics to be as widespread as the networks themselves.  The new health IT center is attracting bipartisan support as a federal program with high potential for private industry.  Competition to host the government’s cloud computing needs is growing heated.

Napolitano: Cybersecurity Is a Public-Private Challenge for All — U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano published an op-ed in the Silicon Valley Mercury News discussing the pervasiveness of digital networks — economy, healthcare systems, transportation and communications networks — in modern life and the need for cooperation in the public and private sectors to keep them safe.  Napolitano also called on American citizens to be mindful and make basic cybersecurity practices as reflexive as putting on a seat belt.

Federal IT Center is Underway Thanks to Bipartisan Support —Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health IT, believes that although private industry is the best place for innovation in health IT, government action is needed to make a more efficient marketplace.  The new federal center already has certified more than 600 new health IT products and is ready to start helping providers prepare these systems to launch U.S. health care into the digital age,  says National Journal.  The center’s success is in part due to its broad bipartisan support. 

Major Players Compete for Share of Cloud Computing Market — The federal government has adopted a “cloud-first” policy that makes cloud computing the default choice and requires agencies to move at least three services to the cloud within an 18-month period. The policy announcements have stoked a growing cadre of companies — both those better known for commercial work and traditional contractors — all vying to play a part in the shifts, reports Washington Post. As the cloud computing market grows, the battle for work is growing fierce, particularly among some of the well-known industry players.