Eighty-six percent of 302 government cybersecurity workers surveyed by MeriTalk last month said they believe big data and analytics technology can help their agencies manage cyber risks.MeriTalk said Tuesday it conducted the online survey to examine cybersecurity posture at the federal, state and local levels and to identify strategies for government organizations to address security issues.
The Splunk-underwritten study found that malicious threats often lurk unseen in government-run networks for 16 days, on average.
“Agencies need to think about big security alongside big data,” said MeriTalk Founder Steve O’Keefe.
Forty-five percent of federal information technology managers surveyed consider data volume as the primary challenge in their cybersecurity efforts, while 54 percent of state and local government IT leaders said their biggest challenge is talent shortage.
Many responding cyber professionals mentioned data analytics as a tool for the public sector to detect an ongoing breach, monitor data traffic and analyze the root cause of attacks.
Respondents also said they believe government cybersecurity teams need financial and management support in order to implement a proactive strategy and leverage data to protect IT networks.
