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GTRA.org – June 9, 2010, Washington, D.C. – Today at the semi-annual Government Technology Research Alliance Council Meeting federal CXO’s discussed top priorities for cloud computing security.

Alfred Rivera Director, Computer Services Directorate, DISA discussed "Security in Public/Private/Hybrid Clouds:  An Executive Panel Perspective", and spoke about the Defense Department’s first cloud computing initiative, the Rapid Access Computing Environment (RACE) which delivers dynamically allocated web services behind the DoD firewall in a secure environment which is a model being looked at by agencies across the government and worldwide organizations.  "Shared services will become much more popular in the coming years, but security will be critical" said Rivera.

Peter Mell, Senior Computer Specialist, NIST moderated a roundtable discussion on the recently launched FedRAMP initiatives, which allow technologies and solutions (including Cloud) that have been certified as 'secure' by one agency to be used government-wide, a program which will help spread the use and adoption of secure cloud technologies.

"Cyber Security is the new Cold War" said Robert Brese, Deputy Chief Information Officer, National Nuclear Security Agency  during a session on emerging Cyber Security threats in the cloud, along with co-presenter Christopher Garcia, Director Cyber Security Management Center (CSMC), FAA.

An (ISC)2 survey of federal CISOs conducted in early 2010 showed that 72% do not yet use cloud computing because of uncertainties over being able to effectively secure cloud computing.

"Over the past 12-18 months, we have seen the federal IT community's understanding and acceptance of cloud computing increase, due to a combination of mandates, better understanding of cloud and increased education.” Said Parham Eftekhari, Director of Research, GTRA “We used to be educating agencies on what the cloud is and why it is necessary. This year its exciting to see that cloud is being widely adopted and the focus has shifted to discussing what agencies need to do to securely implement their cloud program.”

About GTRA: GTRA brings together executive-level government technology Security, Enterprise Architecture, Green IT and Health IT leaders to collaborate, strategize and create innovative solutions.  The semi-annual GTRA Technology Council Meeting address the topics identified through research with the government Council members and industry experts. By sharing best practices and lessons learned, knowledge is exchanged in a peer-to-peer forum, resulting in actionable government-wide strategic plans and cutting-edge solutions.  Through a unique collaborative methodology, GTRA is revolutionizing the way government does business.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
Cloud Computing Security J2010.pdf		80 Kb