anon_IT_fed

This is how any large federally funded markets operate in the United States. Businesses pay into trade associations or lobbying groups, and they try to impact public policy to ultimately increase/decrease regulation or get funding in future years. This is just the IT version of that.

This is a good thing. CISA was run by a bunch of BAH consultants that loved to push 8-9 digit cyber security software / license requirements to agencies with no thoughts on how to pay for it. Cyber security in federal is one big circle jerk. Cyber vendors pay into non-profits to write whitepapers why you need X, Y, Z software. This in turn was pushed by IT consultants from the major System Integrators, whom CIO's loved to bend the knee to because that was their near retirement career path. CISA would eventually push these as requirements, with even a bribe of "use our contract, we'll pay for year 1" but no idea how to pay for future years.

I work in a cabinet level agency running an $350M IT program. I'm good what I do, including cyber. We're too focused on paperwork compliance and vendor agents that provide little to no value for 8-9 digit annual costs.

Anonymous Account because I'd like to keep my job.