OMB POLICY STATEMENTS
OMB Reduces Federal Exposure To Hackers
The Office of Management and Budget has created a plan to reduce federal networks’ exposure to hackers and to cut to 50 the total number of external connectivity points — including Internet connections — for all federal agencies. OMB’s new initiative, called Trusted Internet Connections, requires agencies to develop a plan of action by Jan. 8 for reducing the number of connection points they maintain to the Internet. Agencies must consolidate the number of external gateways to a handful each, perhaps by setting up shared-service centers with other agencies. A gateway, or Internet point of presence, is a physical location with servers, routers and switches through which a network connects to the Internet. The consolidation must be complete by June. The Homeland Security Department’s National Cyber Security Division will oversee the initiative.