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Cyber Security and Telework, Training and Trust

Those were two of the themes discussed at last week’s YAFCEA Bethesda Senior Government Executive Dinner by Jack Holt, Sr. Strategist for Emerging Media with the Department of Defense.

Each table was hosted by a senior government executive, and we were lucky enough to have Jack. Training and trust is a philosophy of management style which we discussed in the context of cyber security and telework.

While cyber attacks from external forces are certainly a concern, the vast majority of security issues are employee related — someone clicks on an email attachment they shouldn’t click on, visits a web site they shouldn’t go to, etc. Jack stressed that the issue doesn’t end at the office, and that folks must be trained to use the same level of vigilance in regard to security at home as they do at the office. Proper training means employees have the knowledge they need to be an integral part of the cyber security solution for an organization.

The same issues of training and trust apply to telework. When an officer is on the field of combat he can’t see the soldier up around the mountain pass. But he knows that soldier was trained properly and he trusts the soldier to perform his duties. They rely on each other to accomplish the mission even though they aren’t in the same vicinity and can’t see each other. With today’s electronic collaborative working tools we keep in close contact even without geographic proximity. If the mission is successful does it matter which seat the employee is sitting in? Is it a matter of training and trust? What do you think?