The Department of Homeland Security is working to speed up its “authority to operate†process as it seeks to modernize its operations through cloud technology, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.
John Zangardi, chief information officer of DHS, told the publication in an interview that he spearheaded a new “authority to proceed†process that will help identify a capability’s vulnerabilities and risks ahead of time.
“At the end of the year, if we did, we give it a regular ATO and put it into the continuous monitoring process and off it goes,†he said. “We’ve done this in a way that hopefully will help us speed things up because that’s the key.â€
Risk management and reciprocity will help quicken the ATO process, he noted. In addition, Zangardi said that agile and nimble cyber compliance and oversight procedures will accelerate the deployment of applications to agency networks.
The General Services Administration and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency have also launched efforts to quicken the ATO process while ensuring strict compliance. The Office of Management and Budget is also prioritizing the replacement of compliance-based authorization processes with risk-based decision-making procedures.