This Is the Year Agencies Will Turn To Big Data To Fend Off Cyber Threats

[Commentary] This is the year government will press forward with cyber defense strategies to address the threats that made headlines in 2013 -- insider threats, for instance, and the need for log data in projects such as the HealthCare.gov website -- but with the added complexity of fewer resources and an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Big data does two major things for agencies countering cyber threats. First, it saves money and time. The ability to quickly find, assemble and analyze information from disparate sources to identify patterns of anomalous network or host behavior can lead to the faster detection and response to cyber threats. Big data also sets the stage for “aha moments,” when security analysts make discoveries and innovate in ways they hadn’t before. This could mean discoveries about citizen behavior on public-facing websites and applications that allow for innovation and better service or about new techniques terrorists are using to hack into secure government networks.

[Mark Seward is senior director of security and compliance at Splunk]