State CIOs advocate for strong intergovernmental partnership to harmonize federal cybersecurity regulations and normalize the audit process
WASHINGTON, D.C. Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – Today, the NASCIO members met with strategic partners and federal officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of Safeguards, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services (FBI-CJIS) to discuss and advocate for strong intergovernmental partnerships, especially harmonizing disparate federal cyber regulations to which state government IT organizations are subject.
Nearly 60 state CIOs and state technology officials participated in NASCIO's 2018 Fly-In where they advocated to advance NASCIO's advocacy priorities including the need to harmonize disparate and often conflicting federal cybersecurity regulations. Participants also advocated for the normalization of the corresponding federal regulations audit process. Specifically, state CIOs engaged with the IRS Office of Safeguards and FBI-CJIS to discuss how state governments can comply with federal regulations while also moving forward on state IT priorities like IT consolidation/optimization. Often, federal information security regulations can impede the IT consolidation/optimization process.
Regarding the federal engagement, NASCIO President and Oklahoma CIO, Bo Reese said, "The state of Oklahoma has reaped $372 million in cost savings and avoidance through our IT unification effort. In seeking IT unification for the state of Oklahoma, however, compliance with conflicting federal cybersecurity regulations was a major impediment. We are pleased to host the IRS Office of Safeguards and the FBI-CJIS at the NASCIO Fly-In so that state CIOs and our federal partners can work together to not only meet compliance requirements but also enhance the cybersecurity posture of the state, which will further enable state CIOs to make efficient use of taxpayer dollars through initiatives similar to Oklahoma's IT unification."
Participants also engaged with representatives from the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Representatives from NGA, NCSL, and NASS spoke to their respective organizational priorities, reflected on past partnership with NASCIO and its members, and spoke to major initiatives happening within their organizations.
NASCIO's annual D.C. Fly-In convenes state CIOs and NASCIO's federal and strategic partners for a day of advocacy and discussion related to current government affairs priorities related to: recognizing the state CIO role in emerging technology, information sharing, and harmonizing federal cybersecurity regulations. It also serves as an opportunity for state CIOs to establish and strengthen key relationships with federal decision-makers.
