ExecutiveBiz members have had the pleasure of interacting with a long line of IT thought leaders. One of note is Chris Rasmussen, a great advocate for information sharing and collaboration within the federal space and a master of the use of new tools to get groups working together on hard problems (read more about Chris here). Chris will speak with members again on 24 April 2008 at The New, New Internet.

Federal users are making increasing use of Web2.0 capabilities, and we look forward to hearing Chris’s views on where this is all going. We are already seeing that some of the nation’s hardest problems, like those the intelligence community must address, are being tackled with Web2.0 tools and techniques. One recent development is a YouTube-type capability for the intelligence world called “iVideo.” (see Federal Computer Week’s article on “YouTube for the intell community” for more info). iVideo is based on Adobe technologies, and provides users from around the globe the ability to securely upload video and other media for the use by others. We can expect the use of iVideo will grow dramatically, like the adoption of other advanced Web2.0 tools provided by the Office of the Director of National intelligence (ODNI).

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It is only natural - especially in the heat of a presidential campaign - that discussions about security threats focus on those of a physical nature. But there has been a flurry of attention and activity of late around cybersecurity and the importance of simulating the types of massive digital attacks that governments (U.S. and foreign) and private sector enterprises may increasingly face.

Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff held court with bloggers to discuss President Bush’s classified government-wide cyber initiative, while at the same time emphasizing improved coordination required by Federal civilian agencies to protect cyber assets.

Chertoff implored patience as the Administration formulates a more substantive cyberstrategy that will likely not be finalized until 2009. For Federal IT vendors that provide services and products that support cybersecurity activities, the pie may grow larger after, as Chertoff puts it, “get our own house in order.”

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