Q&A: Citrix's Faisal Iqbal Talks Cyber

Faisal Iqbal, director of sales engineering at Citrix Systems, recently answered some questions from FedTech Magazine managing editor David Stegon about the future of security.

FEDTECH What does the future of security look like?

IQBAL:Security will evolve from protecting devices and data centers to focusing on the underlying data and applications. The explosion of BYO, consumerization and mobility has driven an array of device-security challenges, which will force agencies to change their perspective from the classic fully managed, fully locked-down devices to a more datacentric approach. This will ensure data and applications are secure, regardless of where they live — and what devices they are accessed from.

FEDTECH The security conversation usually focuses on challenges. What are the opportunities for agencies?

IQBAL:Agencies have an opportunity to use these security conversations to help modernize their systems and applications. Newer systems can provide inherent built-in security without having to bolt-on the security for legacy systems.

FEDTECH How are mobile and the cloud changing the security landscape?

IQBAL:The emergence of mobile and cloud computing represents a unique set of security challenges — new devices and new compute locations that traditional IT infrastructure isn’t built to protect or enable. Agencies often have a “shadow IT” problem with the use of cloud and mobile technologies without full knowledge of them. Agencies need to embrace these technologies and have a plan for adoption that incorporates security.

FEDTECH Is government IT security improving or getting worse? Why or why not?

IQBAL:We’ve seen an uptick in compliance with mandates due to the recent OPM sprint, and this will help with the day-to-day hygiene of modern systems. The broader issue is that of the long-standing legacy applications and systems. These systems can’t be secured adequately. And until there’s a larger focus on modernizing these systems, this will continue to provide a high level of risk for agencies.