The announcement on June 4th of a massive cybersecurity attack that compromised
data stored on Office of Personnel Management (OPM) systems for 4.2
million current and former federal employees is the most recent
head-smacking report of how porous the government's cyber
defense systems apparently are. It is also another searing reminder
of how vulnerable United States government and private sector data
continue to be. Again and again, with alarming frequency, the
refrain of common questions arises and attention is focused on the
dire need to strengthen and secure the government's cyber
defenses.
OPM officials were quick to identify aging legacy systems as the main culprit
behind the massive data theft. Of course, such vulnerability
encourages more attacks and more extensive damage. With no
foreseeable abatement and – to the contrary – the
prospect of increasingly sophisticated cyber invasions, with at
least some appearing to implicate enemy nation states, more
