Aging Technology, Escalating Threats: Strategies for Federal Agencies to Eradicate Technical Debt and Minimize Cyber Threats
In an era where cybersecurity risks loom large for federal agencies, Qualys, a leading cybersecurity solutions provider, offers a comprehensive toolset strategy to help reduce cyber risks and support IT modernization.
The strategy, which integrates continuous vulnerability management, asset discovery, threat prioritization, and compliance monitoring, aims to address the challenges faced by federal agencies, particularly those with legacy infrastructures. These outdated systems, especially those nearing their end-of-life (EoL) or end-of-support (EoS) stages, are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Qualys' integration with leading ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow and BMC ensures a seamless flow of information, keeping the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) current. This integration is crucial for federal agencies as they modernize their enterprise resource planning systems, as seen in the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) nationwide site modernization efforts.
Jamie Wolff, the NNSA's Chief Information Officer, has highlighted the challenge of a significant backlog of technology upgrades in federal agencies. To address this, Qualys enables agencies to identify upcoming EoL/EoS software, hardware, and operating systems up to 12 months in advance.
Qualys' approach is proactive, helping IT leadership plan mitigation steps effectively before vulnerabilities arise. The platform solves the problem of missing assets that aren't actively scanned or monitored, and it uncovers unmanaged or unauthorized assets, enriching them with third-party intelligence.
Federal compliance programs such as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and FedRAMP depend on accurate, up-to-date asset data and strong security controls. Qualys Cybersecurity Asset Management with External Attack Surface Management (EASM) can help federal agencies maintain continuous asset visibility, gain actionable insights into vulnerabilities and risks, standardize tools and processes for tracking and compliance, and better understand usage patterns and contractual obligations.
Adopting a centralized, agency-wide Software Asset Management (SAM) strategy is key to addressing the vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in federal agencies. By doing so, unused licenses, which are essentially wasted funds, can be reallocated to advance missions or improve taxpayer services.
Starting a free trial with Qualys can help agencies eliminate inefficiencies, strengthen cybersecurity, and focus on their mission. With Qualys, federal agencies can unlock the future of trusted cybersecurity for government and critical infrastructure, as evidenced by Qualys achieving FedRAMP® High Authorisation To Operate (ATO).
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