GSA splits security, contracting

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/1016/pol-gsa-10-16-00.asp

BY Diane Frank
10/16/2000

The General Services Administration has officially folded the
contracting functions of the Federal Technology Services Office of
Information Security into FTS Office of Information Technology
Solutions. It has also created a new office to focus solely on GSAs
role in governmentwide information security policy issues.

The operational functions will be brought together in an Information
Security Services Center, which will provide a staff of experts to
help agencies choose security needed for their applications and
services. The split will also enable FTS contracting personnel to
apply the expertise of security contracting officers as security
becomes integral to system implementation, said Sallie MacDonald,
former deputy associate commissioner for information security.

Such expertise includes drawing on contracts such as Safeguard, for
products and services related to Presidential Decision Directive 63,
and Access Certificates for Electronic Services, for public-key
infrastructure solutions. PDD 63 requires the government to protect
information systems running the nations critical infrastructure.

The new Office of Information Assurance and Critical Infrastructure
Protection falls on the policy side of GSAs service to civilian
agencies. GSA serves the government in many ways in the policy arena,
including providing cyber-attack warning and response through the
Federal Computer Incident Response Capability, MacDonald said.

Tom Burke, former associate commissioner for information security,
left FTS last month for industry, and MacDonald is serving as head of
the new policy office as well as continuing to lead the contracting
group.


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