As government relies more heavily on information technology to store, manage and access critical data, it also creates greater potential for that information to be misused or exposed. Data clearly shows that internal threats and external hackers are taking advantage of those vulnerabilities.
To help safeguard this ever-expanding attack surface, public key infrastructures, or PKI, have become a standard security measure for most federal government organizations. But even as more agencies adopt the infrastructure, some cybersecurity professionals question whether PKI is enough to protect sensitive and confidential information.
According to Niko Agnos, Federal Software Security Specialist, and Darren Rivey, Federal Software Security Technologist at Brocade, the binary functionality of PKI cannot solely eliminate internal vulnerabilities or prevent external hacks. While PKI adds a necessary first level of security, it nevertheless can still leave agencies vulnerable to credential misuse and application-layer attacks.
In this Industry Perspective, created in partnership with GovLoop and Brocade, Agnos and Rivey explain how a layered approach to security and authentication is necessary. They also outline how industry partners like Brocade, a leading provider of modern network solutions, can help agencies deploy this layered defense to their current infrastructures.
