Emerging Advanced Cybersecurity Technology And Techniques In The U.S. Federal Government

The U.S. federal government is making strides in multiple areas of advanced approaches for cybersecurity. Various agencies have implemented new technologies and new processes to address evolving security threats. Emerging technology and approaches covered in this article that have been discussed and implemented in the federal market include the zero-trust model, predictive analytics, machine learning, behavioral analytics and real-time assessment tool integration.

Zero-Trust Model

The primary driver in the zero-trust model is that both external and internal networks are to be secured and operated under the assumption that the networks cannot be trusted (i.e., don’t trust your network; assume it is compromised). We had used such a model in corporate IT in the early 2000s, especially segmenting users from the servers inside the corporate network.

The Forrester-developed outline of the model includes identifying the organization’s sensitive data, mapping data flows of that data; architecting the network based on the transactions and with logical and physical segmentation, enforcing control and policy through automation and continuously monitoring the network and systems. The various and multiple data breaches at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) drove the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to recommend adoption of this model.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics focuses on the proactive identification of trends through analysis of various available data sets in cybersecurity such as server logs, applications, storage devices, network devices and so forth. This approach greatly aids cybersecurity protections at the network level due to the volumes of data required for analysis.

Predictive analytics can focus on three main areas: potential and likely future target points of a cyberattack, analysis of large sets of expansive security data, and automation of the analysis workload. The outcomes of the analysis serve as a strategy map for additional cyber protections and/or hardening. Predictive analytics service offerings are more readily available now than in the past, and firms such as Red Hat offer a solution using software as a service (SaaS). With finite or reduced budgets in IT, having a focus on additional cybersecurity resources and potential related spending based on likely attacks helps to spend the right funds on the right areas. Last year, Federal News Radio held a panel that focused primaily on how predictive analytics can help secure Department of Defense systems. – Forbes