Strong security policy, procedures and technology are major requirements, especially for protecting the remote systems used for telework and the sensitive information stored on those devices.
Guide for Securing
Federal Telework
Requirements, Technologies, and
Pointsec Security Solutions Certified for
Purchase by U. S. Federal Agencies Pointsec Mobile Technologies, Inc. High Point One 9500 Bormet Drive, Suites 300-302 Mokena, IL 60448 800-579-3363 or 708-479-3040 www.pointsec.com
Guide for Securing Federal Telework
Executive Summary
The push for telework is growing across the federal government. Telework is an arrangement allowing flexibility in the places where employees may perform their jobs. Other names for telework include telecommuting, flexiwork or flexiplace. The idea of telework has been around since the early 1970s. Federal initiatives began in 1990. The most significant legislation was passed in 1990, which requires each executive branch agency to establish a telework policy. Some agencies have established remote work centers located closer to where employees live, but the majority of telework happens at home or while traveling. Popularity for telework is high among employees because it eliminates the need to commute and enables work-life balance. Employers are also tapping benefits such as increased productivity and reduced overhead. Another byproduct is cutting traffic congestion and pollution. Accountability requirements for telework were passed in 2004 for six agencies and may spread across the entire federal government. The specter of associated budget reduction for inadequate telework implementations is accelerating adoption of remote work.
Implementation of telework in a federal agency or organization ultimately requires involvement of the information technology staff. IT is integral to telework because so much of what employees do requires the use of computers and other devices that tie back into central data and applications. Strong security policy, procedures and technology are major requirements - especially for protecting the remote systems used for telework and the sensitive information stored on those devices. This Guide provides federal IT managers with an overview of securing telework. It presents an overview of agency statutory requirements for establishing a telework policy and program. The Guide describes typical technologies used for telework and security applications for protecting those systems and information. The last part summarizes Pointsec solutions for securing telework, their certifications for federal purchasing, and web links to federal resources on telework.
Requirements for Federal Telework
The statutory framework for telework requires executive branch agencies of the federal government to take specified actions for telework, provides tools for supporting telework, and designates leadership roles to the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration. Their Interagency Telework web site (www.telework.gov) provides guidance for employees who think they might like to telework or are already doing so, for managers who supervise teleworkers, and for agency coordinators.
Significant telework legislation was passed in 2000. Public Law 106-346's Section 359 requires each executive branch agency to establish a telework Valued Benefit policy, "under which eligible employees of the 33% of CFOs said telework agency may participate in telecommuting to the is the No. 1 incentive to maximum extent possible without diminished attract top talent. employee performance." Another law passed in 2004 (P.L. 108-447, Sec. 622) that docks 46% said telework is $5,000,000 of six agencies' budgets for failure to second only to salary as meet requirements for telework. Efforts are the top draw. underway to extend telework accountability Robert Half International provisions and penalties to all federal agencies. In U.S. compensation survey response, more than four dozen federal agencies of 1,400 CFOs (Jan. 03) and organizations have established telework
September 12, 2005 Pointsec Mobile Technologies 2 Guide for Securing Federal Telework initiatives. Clearly, telework is here to stay.
Initiating policy and programs is just the start. Agencies also must facilitate the ability for employees to telework from remote centers, their homes, and to wherever mobility requirements take them. Enablement includes establishing approved processes and best practices for telework, providing adequate te... [download for more]
