It’s March again, and that means the madness of the tournament, or rather the federal budget process, has begun. It’s the time of year when the federal government places its bets on priorities and initiatives that will require funding in the coming year(s). We’ll take a look at the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) specific call-outs, what to watch for, and where you might place your own technologies across the complex landscape of agencies.

Readiness, R&D, and Dominance

The Department of Navy (DON) recently held its annual WEST Conference, this year with a strong emphasis on cybersecurity. The conference brought together key decision-makers from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, along with experts from various industries and government officials. The discussions were broad-ranging, covering topics related to naval warfare, technology, innovation, and cybersecurity.

In recent years, we have seen the rapid growth of esports (electronic sports), or competitive video gaming, with the global esports market already surpassing $1 billion and, according to a recent report from Stratview Research, expected to reach over $9 billion in 2028. Therefore, it should be no surprise that this trend has caught the interest of educational institutions, especially considering over 60% of esports fans are within the age range of the average secondary and post-secondary student, between 13 and 26 years old.

At a recent Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) DC luncheon, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner highlighted three key priorities for the fiscal year 2023: posture, position and partnerships. These priorities reflect the agency's ongoing efforts to meet the changing threats of today and secure the future of its information systems.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has seen increased malicious activity with ransomware attacks against K 12 educational institutions. Malicious cyber actors target school computer systems, slowing access, and rendering the systems inaccessible to essential functions, including remote learning. In some instances, ransomware actors stole and threatened to leak confidential student data unless institutions paid a ransom.

Ransomware attacks on US government organizations cost $18.9bn in 2020.

The Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) conference took place in San Antonio, Texas from December 12-15. Its annual gathering of industry and government personnel invites networking, exhibitors and speakers to take on the top IT challenges currently facing the Department of Defense (DOD). Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Dr. Stacy Dixon, spoke to the audience at large regarding data, its challenges, and opportunities within the intelligence community (IC).

TD Synnex Public Sector’s Chief Cybersecurity Technologist, Don Maclean sat down with Mark Guntrip, Senior Director of Security Strategy at Menlo Security, to discuss one of the latest emergent security threats.

“We must find fresh ways to connect forces, allies, and partners that provide an effective response to the challenge of a highly contested environment not seen in the last 20 years. Given the challenges we face today and in the future, we simply have no choice but to become more interoperable,” said General CQ Brown JR., U.S. Air Force Chief.

This year’s EDUCAUSE Annual Conference highlighted trends and challenges currently dictating not only policy agendas but also information technology (IT) acquisitions for years to come. In particular, the conference referenced the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, which addressed key technology trends and priorities impacting IT buying decisions and more generally, the future of teaching and learning.

FY23 Top Priorities

Every year, there are more and more security breaches, and it gets harder and harder to spot them. According to a leading cybersecurity vendor¹, it takes almost seven months for organizations to find breaches, which gives malicious attackers plenty of time to get what they want.

Most often, system misconfigurations like default settings or credentials leave the door wide open for exploitation, resulting in these breaches. As organizations grow, this problem only gets worse because quick changes frequently result in skipped steps.