Christopher Ballister

Chris Ballister is an Associate Partner for IBM in the Cybersecurity & Privacy Service Area. His work focuses on the relationship of information security, IT governance, privacy, and risk management supporting the C-Suite throughout the public sector. Chris has served in government at the senior executive level as both a deputy and Chief Information Officer at the US House, White House, and Office of Inspector General at Health and Human Services.

Weekly Round-up: March 8, 2013

Dan Chenok

Achieving Cost-Effective, Mission-Based Cybersecurity: Using Risk Management and Analytics to Manage Vulnerabilities and Threats

Engaging leaders in protecting an organizations’ cyber, IT, and information assets is a critical starting point to effective security. A next logical step for any government or commercial organization is to leverage risk management and analytics to implement a mission-based security program. As organizations move forward, guidance from NIST and evolving capabilities in industry are merging to paint a path forward for agencies to follow.

Weekly Roundup: October 20-24, 2014

Dan Chenok Interesting and informative infographic on national cybersecurity preparedness. Interesting notes on identity management and recent financial executive order. Interesting observations on open source and security. John Kamensky Countering ID Theft. Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, reports that the White House is giving agencies a lead role in combatting ID theft, noting: “President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on Oct.

New Report from the IBM Center: A Framework to Improve Management of Cyberspace

This report is the product of a group of experts, which was convened by the Department of Computer Science at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). IUP brought together an interdisciplinary panel of experts in national security, international relations, foreign policy, information system network and security, public policy, and computer science. These experts participated in two collaborative roundtable meetings during the first six months of 2014. The report presents results from the roundtable discussions, as well as other research conducted by the author.

Weekly Roundup May 8, 2015

Rewiring the Pentagon: Carter's new cyber strategy. After two months on the job studying the Defense Department's cybersecurity and defense IT needs, Secretary Ashton Carter will on April 23 unveil a new DOD cyber strategy that emphasizes developing the personnel and technologies necessary to stay abreast of an ever-evolving threat. Government’s Mobile Sites, Apps Rated More Highly Than Many Companies’. More and more, Americans are turning to their smartphones to check their bank balance, look up a restaurant listing -- or even access a government service.

Weekly Roundup May 15, 2015

OMB Deputy Director Beth Cobert discusses importance of #SES #leadership to government performance @ombpress. http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/05/obama-management-chief-senior-execs-must-set-tone-better-performance/112834/?oref=river Cybersecurity matters for achievement of agency missions, says @usNISTgov expert Ron Ross.http://www.federalnewsradio.com/241/3857152/Cybersecurity-mission-areas-must-integrate-to-stave-off-flood-of-attacks More #procurement #transparency from @usGSA -- supports broader category management initiative.

Weekly Roundup: June 1 - 5, 2015

Sequestration’s Long Tail. Federal News Radio reports that the 2013 sequester led the Defense department to suddenly cancel contracts or delay the development or fielding of new systems. This led to hundreds of millions in longer-term additional costs, to be felt in upcoming years. Standardizing Administrative Leave. Federal News Radio reports that the Office of Personnel Management has released a memo outlining steps it will take to standardize how agencies will report administrative leave costs.

Weekly Roundup: June 15-19, 2015

CyberSprint Underway. Federal News Radio reports that federal CIO Tony Scott has given agencies 30 days to improve the security of their systems and data, following the data breech at the Office of Personnel Management. According to FNR: “Scott also announced the creation of a "Cybersecurity Sprint Team" to review current federal policies and procedures and recommend a new cyber strategy for civilian agencies.” Federal Personal Coaching Network Created.

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