Jim Richberg, public sector field chief information security officer at Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT), said government agencies should begin rethinking security as they prepare for impending information technology budget cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now is the time to find smart ways to spend money,” Richberg wrote. “Agencies should look for multifunctional solutions, such as software-defined networking, and choose options that are intrinsically secure.”
He discussed how “security policy-driven automation” that relies on artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven analytics could help agencies immediately detect cyber vulnerabilities and protect other components from threats.
“In addition, real-time visibility and granular control of a platform’s components can enable zero trust and dynamic segmentation, allowing agencies to minimize the consequences of a successful penetration,” he added.
Richberg said agencies should also start assessing the challenges caused by the limitations of using legacy platforms and architectures “that weren’t designed to meet new use cases.”
