Feds Say Encrypting Data is Key but Don't Want to Pony up the Cash

Despite an increasing volume of data traveling across federal networks, a majority of federal IT managers recently polled do not believe that data is secure. Only about a quarter of the 200 respondents from 60 agencies were certain of their network data’s safety, according to the recently released report by research company, Market Connections. Incomplete and haphazard encryption are the likely culprits. “Despite the volume of unencrypted inter- and intra-agency data traversing most enterprises, many federal agencies are not implementing procedures to protect the network because it is expensive and degrades performance,” the report stated.

Almost all respondents said encrypting their network data is important. But when asked whether their agency actually does so, that number decreased to 76 percent, according to the report. The main challenge facing agencies when it comes to keeping network data safe is insufficient budgets. Three-quarters of those polled said it’s an issue. A lack of internal resources and concerns that data protection systems are too complex were also cited as obstacles for about 50 percent of respondents. The majority of those polled said they consider prevention a “high priority” in cybersecurity. Identification and remediation were both “high priorities” for almost 50 percent of those polled.