Plans to centralize cybersecurity with DHS seen as step forward

CSO - Plans for a $6 billion federal shopping hub to help government agencies protect their unclassified networks from cyberattacks sparked optimism among experts who believed the program could significantly improve security.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could award contracts for the cybersecurity program as early as this month, Bloomberg reported. The so-called Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program could become the largest of its kind in the U.S. government.

The plan entails more than just providing security hardware, software and consulting services to federal, state and local agencies. The program would also act as an early warning system by continuously monitoring networks to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers.

"The government is basically putting funds towards continuous monitoring with a focus on reducing the attack surface," Ron Gula, chief executive of Tenable Network Security, said on Wednesday. "This is a great thing."

Centralizing cybersecurity would also have the benefit of helping to create a standard architecture across agencies, Murray Jennex, an associate professor of information system security at San Diego State University, said.

Plans to centralize cybersecurity with DHS seen as step forward | The Network World