During 2015, federal departments collectively reported 77,183 cybersecurity incidents, a 10 percent increase from 2014. Looking ahead, cyberrisks and attacks are rapidly increasing and evolving. In short, more clearly than ever, cybersecurity is everyone’s priority.
Despite these increases, however, there does seem to be a silver lining: government is getting better and more capable at responding to cyberattacks. GovLoop partnered with Akamai, a leader in content delivery network services for advanced cybersecurity, to survey more than 350 federal employees and gauge the current state of cybersecurity in government as well as future trends.
For participants, the survey was intended to be a 2016 cyber year in review while gauging what’s ahead for 2017. The survey addressed everything from agencies’ top security priorities to agencies’ top security concerns as well as primary approaches to mitigate threats.
This research brief outlines the main findings from the survey results. Additionally, it discusses specific areas where government is making improvements in cybersecurity, areas that need improvement, strategies to address the challenges, and security best practices from the Department of Defense.
In order to gain a better understanding of the survey results and expertise from the private sector, GovLoop also interviewed Tom Ruff, Vice President of the Public Sector Americas at Akamai.
