Kshemendra Paul, appointed by President Obama as Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in 2010, spoke to the WashingtonExec Federal Business Council on the topic of identity management, open source certification, and cyber defense within the federal government. He also gave a high-level overview of the recent Information Sharing Environment 2013 Annual Report to the Congress titled “National Security Through Responsible Information Sharing.”
Before joining the ODNI, Paul served as the Federal Chief Architect in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where he led Federal enterprise architecture (FEA) activities and chaired committees responsible for leading initiatives such as inter-operability across networks and databases used by front-line law enforcement, homeland security, military, intelligence, and diplomatic personnel across the country.
Acknowledging that much of the intelligence and law enforcement communities, as well as the wider federal government structure, often have a stovepiped IT model, Paul said that common data identity and protection standards are key priorities for him and the ISE. Spear phishing has become a major concern along with identity access in secret and secure networks; large clearance reform is needed, according to Paul.
“Paul has been a thought leader in the Federal IT industry ever since he first joined the Department of Justice almost 10 years ago. He has always been at the vanguard of the various standards and interoperability initiatives and was the perfect fit for PM-ISE. In the wake of recent domestic and international terror events, we are reminded of the great and necessary work that Paul and his team conduct to make our country safer and an efficient force. Reliable and responsible information sharing standards are critical for continued security and swift coordination of our nation,” said Sumeet Shrivastava, President of Array Information Technology (ARRAY).
Paul went on to say that the largest hurdle he faces when implementing policies driving data and standards integration is not a lack of technological innovation, but a human resources management issue. Better communication, outreach and understanding of post-9/11 best practices and frameworks are needed. The template has been created, implementation is the next step, concluded Paul.
