Local State and Federal Government

A special set of standards come into play when an IT asset recovery process involves a government agency. The impetus is the highly confidential nature of the data residing within the government’s IT equipment. Information concerning national defense and security is, of course, one that must be treated with the utmost security. But also the matter of personal information is another; Social Security, employment applications, and Passport data, among others, are prime examples. Thus, all government agencies are subject to a scheduled review of their IT equipment to determine if its out-of-date or operating in a proper manner. Decisions are then made as to the correct course of action. Certain IT equipment may be seen as adequate for current needs, while others are deemed to be at an end-of-life status and must be replaced through a strict asset recovery process. There is also a pressing urgency to make available certain data across agency lines on a “need-to-know” basis. Over the past few years, there has been much public criticism about vital security information digitized in the IT equipment of one agency, but not accessible by another. The consequences of this lack of information sharing, among and between the various agencies, have the potential for serious, if not catastrophic, outcomes.