VA Upgrading Their Cybersecurity Capabilities

July 30, 2010 - Given the level of damage theft of information has inflicted on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over the last few years, it is a wonder why it has taken them so long to upgrade their cybersecurity capabilities. Nevertheless, the VA will be implementing updates to their cybersecurity network to include:

• A more rigorous monitoring system;
• Modifications to their health IT protocol;
• New training tools; and
• Upgraded wi-fi capabilities.

Jaren Doherty is the Deputy Secretary for Information Protection and Risk Management at the VA and he recently spoke to these security upgrades. According to Doherty, the VA has a goal of being able to see every device on their infrastructure and network. By 30Sep10 the VA will apparently be able to see every:

• Desktop;
• Router;
• Switcher; and
• Server.

One of the VA's biggest concerns is protecting medical devices on their network against malware and other such threats. All medical devices share base operating systems but are not updated at the same rate. If a security vulnerability arises, those devices are exposed until updated, which, for some places, can last over a year. The VA is attempting to be more pro-active in downloading and applying their own security patches so they no longer have to wait for outside providers to service their devices.

At the same time the VA has to focus on improving training and education concerning cybersecurity procedures, which is what they are doing. This is proving to be a challenge given the VA's varying and multiple levels of security. It seems the VA is finally on track to ensure they are where they need to be in order to protect the veterans they serve.