Feds work out the bugs in top secret telework

After a federal employee allegedly leaked a trove of confidential documents to anti-secrets website WikiLeaks, the government responded with tighter controls on information sharing. But hunkering down on unauthorized access to official data hasn't necessarily disconnected teleworkers, say current and former federal security officials.

If information sharing and information protection can coexist then so can telework and data security, as evidenced by the actions of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, or ONCIX, as well as the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget. In October 2011, President Obama issued an executive order directing agencies to retrofit classified networks with safeguards to stop intrusions and unauthorized downloads. An interagency insider threat task force, managed by ONCIX, was created to instruct departments on controlling employee access, even at off-site locations. Task force members are looking at how to apply protections so that they don't conflict with telework laws.