Gavin Stokes is a Senior Associate with expert knowledge of cyber technologies and implementing large scale Enterprise Identity and Access Management solution delivery for Booz Allen’s civil government clients.
- What are the most pressing challenges public sector organizations face while establishing a trust framework?
- From my work in the cyber technology field. In addition to taking on broad challenges in information assurance, I focus on developing solutions for identity management and the establishment of trust regarding citizen, employee, partner, and contractor access to data. Traditionally, organizations use vendor product-suites that bundle standard identity and access control security solutions, but client objectives are not always met by off-the-shelf products. Currently, federal agencies are working to tackle challenges around citizen services which mandate that agencies find ways to make federal data accessible to the general public..
As social media and Government 2.0 initiatives gain momentum, citizens have the expectation of interactivity with their government in a way similar to what they have with their peers on Facebook or with their banks through interactive online portals. To meet this expectation, agencies must determine how to grant secure access to citizens leveraging efficiencies and technologies that mirror those of their private sector counterparts..
Consider the process of applying for a federally-funded grant or loan. In most instances, this is a process that a citizen cannot complete online. Typically this would require a face to face visit to a government office to show the appropriate credentials. Contrastingly, in the private sector, an individual can get approved for an online mortgage loan – sight-unseen – for hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is an example of a challenge in the government-to-citizen space, but similar obstacles exist in the government-to-business and the government to government arenas. Citizens and businesses expect information-accessibility within the private sector that is currently available in the federal sector. Now the question becomes, how can government agencies establish a secure framework to efficiently interact with citizens? - How can the organizations overcome those challenges?
- The concept of the Trust is the framework that we use to broaden our scope for addressing security concerns beyond siloed, point solutions for identity and access. It allows us to incorporate technologies and methodologies that scale across the government at large. The technology necessary to establish trust has been in place for several years. Much of this technology forms the bedrock of the billions of dollars in e-commerce transactions that take place every year. Trust is something many take for granted in the context of most e-commerce transactions. In order to build trust in the federal space, we need to integrate business processes with the FICAM (Federal Identity, Credential and Access Management) roadmap and frameworks which encourage agencies to adopt private sector practices and include private sector entities to manage trust. The sooner agencies adopt and build upon private sector best practices, the sooner we can address the challenges associated with granting citizens data access..
The broader challenge lies in establishing an identity marketplace. Federal agencies and affiliated organizations would coalesce around a claims-based marketplace where identity providers—ranging from e-commerce portals like Pay Pal to financial institutions— would allow agencies to shop for the information they need to accurately identify an individual seeking access to sensitive information. These processes would not only meet the expectations of the socially-enabled public, but reduce costs and burdens associated with maintaining identities within agencies. - Is trust simply a security issue? If not, what else is involved?
- Trust is a productivity issue, and if the country is to compete and maintain productivity in today’s world, the government will need to lead by example. Going forward, it is important that we expand our base of information security knowledge and capabilities..
Though security is the direct driver of the identity and trust framework, by facilitating citizens’ protected access to information, the nation will have a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The federal government is working to increase productivity and efficiency by granting individuals a platform that will allow us to make use of identity and access management solutions with trust managed by private entities. For instance, today, the public’s ability to access information and process financial transactions is critical to building a strong economy. Once we overcome inefficiencies caused by outdated processes, trust will help us build, strengthen, and grow our economy.
You must be logged in to leave comments.