Tech Musing 3: Feds Prep for Cybersecurity Buying Spree

Austin Laske
4/19/2016
MIS 441
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/83379.html

Feds Prep for Cybersecurity Buying Spree

Summary:
As we all know, the US has had a huge problem with cybersecurity over the last decade. We are falling behind China and Russia in terms of cyber warfare and given the mess between Apple and the FBI it seems nothing has changed. This past week however, it appears that the government has finally gotten its wake up call. There are reports from the General Services Administration (GSA) that the US is buying security technology from private sector companies faster than ever before. They are contracting mostly small start up companies for cutting edge technology to apply to different aspects of the government. The buying is going to continue over the next couple months as well. The Department of Homeland Security has set a deadline for May 13th for all the potential vendors they contacted to respond to their proposal. This current proposal to these potential vendors alone is worth $395 million. In addition the Department of Defense has just selected vendors in a proposal that would cost an additional $5 billion.  With this exuberant amount of spending on contracts with primarily small vendors, some senators worried about how it  will effect the small businesses. According to a survey conducted by the GSA the general consensus among small vendors is that they think the contract is a great deal and a huge opportunity for their company. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for the US, but only time can tell.

Relevance to Class:
Throughout class, we have talked about the importance of cyber security on all levels of an organization. The lack of security in the public sector takes its toll on many different projects throughout the government, and makes everything less efficient.  The main problem the government is having right now is that they are so far behind with cybersecurity, that it would take a lot of time and money to get them caught up with the rest of the world. Instead they are focused on outsourcing the technology in order to catch back up more quickly.  The integration of all of this new technology will be the most difficult aspect of this transition. The people in charge will have to focus on how to introduce the technology, and how people must be trained in order to use the new technology. This will be a huge project for project managers to map out.

Relevance to MIS Students:
The federal government on a buying spree is a giant opportunity for MIS students looking to enter the workforce. With the new technology being integrated into all of the current systems across the government, they are going to need students to implement the technology. It is creating perhaps hundreds, if not thousands of jobs all across the country working for the government. Additionally, since the US is now a major buyer of private sector technology, it is a great opportunity for people looking at starting their own security business or joining a small security business. It is expanding the market for these small companies allowing more flexibility for MIS students. It doesn't matter whether students want to work in the private or public sectors, the bottom line is it is creating many new jobs for college graduates.