The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is adopting a “cyber dominance” strategy to better protect veterans’ data, according to Eddie Pool, the acting assistant secretary for information and technology and chief information officer (CIO) at the VA.
Pool, who has served in the acting CIO role since January, stressed on Tuesday that protecting veterans’ data is a “sacred charge” and one that the VA Office of Information and Technology takes very seriously.
“One of the most significant things we’re doing is in our cybersecurity spaces, we are adopting a strategy of cyber dominance,” Pool said during a Dec. 9 event hosted by Federal News Network.
“That’s a move away from the traditional, exclusively compliance-based approach to cybersecurity, where we put a lot of our time, resources, [and] investments in compliance-based activities,” he said. “For example, did someone check the box on a form? Did someone file something in the right place, etc.? We’re really moving a lot of our focus over to the risk-based approach to security.”
The approach includes a zero trust architecture and microsegmentation of the VA’s networks – activities that are focusing on the “operational landscape” and closing off threat vectors, Pool said.
The acting CIO noted that the VA has been “baking in” its zero trust deliverables into every system.
However, he said the department’s goal is “not necessarily to try to map to a model,” but to prioritize the “highest value opportunities” that zero trust models offer. The VA is “taking parts and pieces” of what makes the most sense for the “biggest thing for our buck right now,” according to Pool.
“The goal is really cyber dominance from the VA perspective, and to be a leader in this area across the federal government,” Pool said.
Additionally, he noted that the VA has been standardizing its approach to privacy, and the department has stood up several working groups around that goal.
“We do have some great things coming down the pipe in terms of how we’re going to modernize this across the board, so I’m looking forward to talking about that more in the future once we get to those critical milestones,” Pool said, adding, “We are changing the game in that space here at VA.”