Federal CIO On Adopting Emerging Technologies

U.S. Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel says he likes to make this point in his speeches: "The securest data center is the one that's unplugged from the network, but that's not going to get you the service that you need." The federal government, like the private sector, is under pressure to adopt new technologies such as mobile and the cloud, but cybersecurity must be in the forefront of thinking, VanRoekel says in an interview with Information Security Media Group [transcript below].

"Just using technology for technology's sake is never a good tactic," he says. "Instead, the job of a CIO, the job of a technologist and leadership inside government, is waking up everyday and making a decision about risk-based on a spectrum." VanRoekel says the government is getting smarter about defining that spectrum and deciding where it can go and not go based on the type of information it's protecting, adding that security must be coupled with wise spending and meeting citizens' expectations...