Cybersecurity for the federal government is increasingly complex. More and more important data is being stored or shared using the Internet, and at the same time, hacks and other cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent. Agencies need to stay on the cutting-edge of cyber solutions to ensure critical citizen data and military information are protected. Right now, federal agencies are moving away from point-in-time monitoring towards a more continuous approach to help fix our country's critical cyber weaknesses.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed theContinuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) programto help agencies bolster their cyber defenses through continuous monitoring. Continuous monitoring -as opposed to point-in-time monitoring -improves response times, increases threat visibility and reduces down time. It allows for agencies to have adequate, risk-based and cost-effective cybersecurity and more efficiently allocate cybersecurity resources. The CDM program calls for agencies to deploy a variety of solutions across the attack continuum to expand their continuous diagnostic capabilities.

To fulfill the CDM mandate, federal agencies need to select a technology partner that can help them enhance their cybersecurity without increasing complexity. Here at Cisco, we think that means three things: integration, consolidation, and automation. So we developed cyber solutions that integrate seamlessly into agencies' current infrastructure, share information in real-time, can be a service from the cloud, and automate workflow and threat-response whenever possible. Because they are integrated, consolidated, and automated, these solutions aren't incredibly complicated to use, but they can greatly improve agencies' cyber capabilities.

At Cisco, we have CDM solutions for policy and access, next-generation network security, advanced threat protection, and content security. All of our solutions can help federal agencies fulfill the CDM mandate, stay on the forefront of cybersecurity technology, and best protect their critical information -a win-win-win.

Our CDM solutions are well-respected by industry and government agencies alike. In fact, Cisco's Peter Romness, the U.S. Public Sector Cybersecurity Solutions Lead, just spoke at arecent FCW event on CDMabout how it is helping to enable digital government. Digitization represents a$19 trillion opportunity, but the federal government can't tap into that opportunity without first ensuring the security of their data. Romness highlighted Cisco's ability to provide protection across the entire attack continuum and across multiple threat vectors, and that Cisco turns that unmatched visibility into the best threat intelligence in the industry.

To hear Peter's full speech on CDM and Cisco's unparalleled security capabilities,click here. And you cancheck out our latest whitepaperto learn even more about Cisco's cyber solutions for CDM and continuous monitoring.