Federal IT spending to reach $6.3 by 2011
The need for interoperability and the threat of hacking will drive the steady growth in government IT spending
U.S. Federal civilian and defense information technology (IT) security spending is expected to increase from $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2006 to $6.3 billion by FY2011, according to a report released by Reston, Virginia-based INPUT. As information becomes increasingly valuable and the number of cyber terrorist attacks rises, the requirement to secure federal networks has become a government priority.
Recent data thefts and losses at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Energy have caused legislators to question government-wide information security processes and policies. Initial findings from Congressional hearings suggest that CIOs and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in general have but little authority to implement, monitor, and enforce information security technologies and polices in their organizations, owing to the decentralization of federal IT networks within their respective departments. Most CIOs and CISOs face many organizational and technical challenges hindering centralized control.
The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002 continues to be a market driver for IT security spending within civilian agencies. In the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) FY05 report to Congress and subsequent Federal Computer Security (FCS) Report Card, the government received an overall grade of D plus for the second year in a row. As a result, and in light of major criticism, INPUT expects legislators to reevaluate FISMA and consider including additional control elements based on information security best practices such as real-time network monitoring, inventory management, configuration management, and identity management.
INPUT’s Federal IT Security Market Analysis and Forecast is available to INPUT Network members subscribing to the Federal Information Security Analysis program.
