For all the talk during political campaigns and even once in office, the true decisions are made when it comes time to determine a federal budget. Each spring the president submits a proposed budget to Congress that highlights the administration’s spending priorities for that year with a clear message: What gets funded is important.
In March, President Trump issued the first proposed budget of his administration. Called the “Budget Blueprint,” this document provided a general overview of where the administration wants to spend money in the upcoming fiscal year. While a number of federal agencies and programs face cuts as the administration looks to scale back government spending, the proposed budget indicates that cybersecurity will continue to be a major priority.
For example, the “Budget Blueprint” mentions the need for the American military to not only be superior on land, at sea and in the air, but also in cyberspace.
“As the world has become more dangerous— through the rise of advanced potential adversaries, the spread of destructive technology and the expansion of terrorism—our military has gotten smaller and its technological edge has eroded,” the budget said.
Overall, President Trump’s proposed budget includes 15 separate mentions of cybersecurity in the 53-page document. While dollar figures are still unclear it is obvious the Trump administration wants to continue to make investments in cybersecurity.
Cyber was one of the growing priorities during the Obama administration as well, as spending on cyber defenses continued to grow each year. It is obvious the Trump administration has similar ideas about cybersecurity, prioritizing cyber defense even as cuts are made elsewhere. Congress will still make changes to the budget, but it would be hard to imagine them looking to make drastic cuts to cyber spending.
There is a clear need for these investments. When federal agencies first built up their cyber capabilities the strategy at the time was to purchase individual systems that secured different parts of the network. Using a best-of-breed solution for each part of the enterprise seemed like a good idea at the time, but as systems became more complex agencies lost visibility into their networks.
That is beginning to change. With comprehensive security systems, agencies can now turn to solutions that protect data throughout its full lifecycle. The increased investments should fund more integrated, comprehensive solutions that are built to work together, opposed to simply applying additional patches in a “band-aid” approach to securing these disparate systems. Agencies will get better visibility into their networks, allowing them to see everything that happens. This was not possible just a few years ago.
We are thrilled that the Trump administration is continuing to prioritize cybersecurity as it is an important component to any technology strategy. The U.S. government holds some of the most sensitive information in the world, and that data needs to be protected. The technology is here to make that mission easier than ever before. Let’s hope the buy-in from the top continues.