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During the last two years, federal agencies have made tremendous strides toward improving the security of their networks, systems, and data. But it hasn’t been enough, and never could have been. Even as the federal government has put in place new, more sophisticated programs for defending against cyber threats, those threats have continued to evolve.

For example, according to Symantec’s 2016 Internet Threat Report, the number of ransomware attacks increased by 35 percent between 2015 and 2016, while spear-phishing campaigns increased by 55 percent. Additionally, new trends, such as the exponential growth in Internet-connected devices, are creating even more vulnerabilities. Not surprisingly, executives in both the private and public sectors are alarmed by these growing risks: According to the Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report, 41 percent of executives say that they are “much more concerned” about security breaches than they were three years ago.

Without a doubt, the federal government is prepared to invest heavily to improve its cybersecurity posture. Market Research Media predicts that the federal cybersecurity market will grow from $18 billion in 2017 to $22 billion by 2022. Now it is a matter of understanding the nature of the evolving cyber landscape and how to address it.

That was the focus of this event. Federal IT leaders from across government discussed the key issues that agencies need to address in the coming years—and the technologies and strategies that will be critical to that effort. How can agencies leverage cyber intelligence to take a more proactive approach to identifying and mitigating threats? What steps can they take to reduce the risk of employees inadvertently exposing data—as well as the risk of the malicious insider threat? What is the future of two-factor authentication?

Topics addressed include:

• Mission-appropriate security risk assessments
• Mobile security
• The role of public-private collaboration
• Understanding the nature of the insider threat
• Encryption strategies
• Best practices in cyber hygiene
• The growing importance of behavioral biometrics
• Cyber intelligence and cyber information sharing