The director of IT and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that both culture and workforce remain a consistent challenge for cybersecurity within the Federal government – especially as government agencies look towards the future of IT modernization.
GAO’s Dave Hinchman said during Okta’s Gov Identity Summit in Washington on April 23 that the growing prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) is a real example of the importance of having a strong Federal cybersecurity workforce.
“We need to do a better job in AI,” Hinchman said. “What do we need to do to keep the same people within the organization, and how do we get more people?”
The cyber and IT lead said that it’s going to take time, but building specialty workforces will be key as the Federal government works towards the future of modernization.
Hinchman said that he is seeing agencies begin to look at cutting-edge technology as they start the journey of transitioning away from their legacy IT systems.
He said he personally has a desire for agencies to leverage the future of modernization to transform customer services.
Hinchman noted that none of this will be possible without a culture change – which remains a “consistent challenge” within the Federal government.
Using moving to the cloud as an example, Hinchman said it’s critical agencies are “thoughtful and intentional about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.” Large changes like that, he said, are going to take plenty of time and effort.
