Frtom: Nextgov
By Bob Brewin
Information technology programs that support national security, homeland security and law enforcement will be deemed essential during the government shutdown, a top executive of an industry trade group predicted.
Even with a shutdown, the government needs to protect and operate its networks, and federal workers who maintain those systems will stay on their jobs, said Trey Hodgkins, TechAmerica’s senior vice president of global public policy.
Cybersecurity is essential to multiple agencies, and cyber operations will continue during the shutdown, he said. Law enforcement organizations, such as the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which among other things performs fingerprint matches for local police departments, should also be viewed as essential, Hodgkins said.
“I would be surprised if that was shuttered,” Hodkins said. The Criminal Justice Information Services website was operating Tuesday, with no shutdown notice posted.
Deniece Peterson, director of federal industry analysis at a consulting firm GovWin, said public health, Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control and parts of the banking system would be considered essential government functions, with IT personnel supporting those functions viewed as essential.
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