to evolve and organizations piv- ot measures to help protect their organizational data .
www . AmericanSecurityToday . com 2021 CHAMPIONS - Edition 60
Government and federal IT departments today have largely adopted Multi-Factor Authentication ( MFA ) processes , such as the DoD ’ s Common Access Card ( CAC ) and Personal Identity Verification ( PIV ), but not all systems can accommodate these controls .
It can be beneficial to explore new trends and tap a variety of authentication techniques that could be applied across a wide range of applications in government .
To guide any application exploratory phase , consider prioritizing systems according to mission-criticality and sensitivity , and seek to prioritize MFA for systems deemed most critical and then work down from there .
Looking Ahead : Keep Security Top of Mind
A government IT department or agency ’ s security plan can act as a resource and living document .
It can be updated on a regular basis , depending on potential threats coming up on the horizon .
It can include the basics of your approach , as well as practices , including guidelines on how to advise when to use personal devices and how to protect them ( such as up-to-date operating systems , browsers , firewalls ), utilizing multi-factor authentication ( not just strong passwords , but secondary methods of authentication and information on new mandates ), and data protection ( including how to handle customer or other protected information ).
390