Insider Threat: Can You Protect Your Company?

As a security expert, I am trained to never leave any rock unturned when it comes to exposing dangerous situations, which is why I often suggest that companies look inside their own walls as they try to protect the classified information they possess.  There has been an increase with insider security threats making the workplace and its employees not part of the solution, but part of the danger.

How do you keep your company safe from insider threats?  I searched the web to find some great tips for companies:

Educate Employees
In addition to educating employees on what company information is classified or not, you should also educate them on your security policies and procedures.  “Establish a comprehensive awareness program to include annual security training with a testing component, e-mail tips, posters, a letter of support from senior management, self-assessment surveys, awareness luncheons, and a security web site. Better yet, supplement training with awareness briefings,” suggests Gideon T. Rasmussen in Insider Risk Management Guide.  “Briefings give personnel the opportunity to ask questions and put the information security team in the position of advocating security initiatives.

Monitor Online Activities
Make sure you have strong account and password policies in place, suggests the article Protecting Against Insider Threat, this will allow you to monitor the online actions of your employees.  “Logging, periodic monitoring, and auditing provide an organization the opportunity to discover and investigate suspicious insider actions before more serious consequences ensue,” states the article.

Add Nontechnologists to Security Team
According to an article on DarkReading.com, companies “that performed best in dealing with insiders also had security teams who were not all technologists.”  They suggest adding human-resource, legal and business experts to your security team to make it more well-rounded and effective.

Security First & Associates has numerous ways to help your business overcome security threats—inside or outside the walls of your company.  Give us a call—we would love to help!

Guest Blog Post by Diane Griffin of Security First & Associates.

Growth in Challenging Times

A recent Victory in Procurement^SM study by American Express OPEN* found that seeking Federal contracts is a proactive growth strategy for successful business owners –both those who are currently active as well as those who are still seeking greater success.

The study states that “…When asked why they entered into the federal procurement marketplace, the plurality of active contractors…all say that entering into the Federal marketplace is a conscious growth strategy for their business. (39% of active contractors, 37% currently inactive and 39% non-contractors all say this is their main motivation). “

“Coming in a close second is the conviction that they have a product or service that will fill a need for a particular agency (34%, 29%, 27%, respectively). Few are entering into federal procurement as a buffer against the ebb and flow of other business. Just 16% of active contractors, 21% of currently inactive and 21% of non-contractors give this as their main reason for seeking Federal contracts…”

Bid to Win

While many business owners focus on socio-economic certifications as door-openers (small business, veteran-owned, Minority-owned, women-owned, etc.) the real secret to success is selecting the right bids to pursue. The study further states that “..Successful contractors have bid on an average of 19.5 prime contracting opportunities over the past three years…[and] …Successful contractors have won an average of 8 times during that time.”

Subcontracting Benchmarks

Contractors are also active in seeking subcontracting opportunities, participating an average of 7.9 times over the past three years as a subcontractor on a proposal submitted by another bidder.

Many contractors get distracted by certifications, paperwork or other hurdles and fail to identify appropriate opportunities, plan, position and then subsequently fail to bid frequently. The study takeaway is that “…Successful small business contractors are thus significantly more active bidders, for both prime and subcontract procurement opportunities…”

*For the full study and eye-opening statistics visit: https://www.openforum.com/governmentcontracting/

Fluid Federal Strategies as Primes, Subs and Team Members

Author: Gloria Larkin

The old rule of thumb in government contracting was that prime contractors were always large businesses, subcontractors were always small businesses and a team was only appropriate in baseball or football.

As recently as five years ago, one was safe operating under that assumption. But business has changed dramatically and, today, successful businesses are prepared to wear multiple hats in the new federal contracting market. Now, a small business may be a subcontractor on contract No. 1, a prime contractor on contract No. 2 and a team member on contract No. 3, all of which are running simultaneously.

What may be even more confounding is that, on the flip side, the typical large business may serve as a prime contractor on contract A, but also could serve happily as a subcontractor on contract B and a team member on contract C.

There are multiple motivators behind this drastic change.
Doing More With Less

Federal spending has grown from about $220 billion in 2000 to more than $550 billion last year. During that time, the acquisition workforce has shrunk from more than 100,000 people to fewer than 40,000. Even with budget cuts and sequestrations, the end result is that individual contract size has grown because there are fewer people to administer the contracts.
$1B Small Business Contracts

Instead of $5 million, $20 million or even $100 million individual contracts, the federal government is competing multi-billion-dollar contracts, and some of those gigantic contracts are set aside for small businesses to be the prime contractor. One recent award was through the Department of Homeland Security, where 29 small businesses were prime contractor awardees for a six-year, $6 billion-dollar-plus contract.

Another example is the Department of Health and Human Services CIO-SP3 SB contract, a 10-year, $20 billion ceiling, multiple-award contract awarded to more than 90 small businesses.

This scenario is in place because the federal government has a mandate to spend 23% of its contracting dollars with small businesses nationwide. Yes, large businesses still win more than 77% of the business, but 23% of $500 billion is more than $115 billion per year, and that’s a huge market in anyone’s book.

In most instances, when a small business wins as the prime contractor, it is required to self-perform 51% or more of the contract. However, it may be allowed to subcontract 49% to any business, large or small. This is why large businesses may be content to be a subcontractor, as garnering 49% of something is much better than getting 100% of nothing.
Teaming

Teams are relatively new to the federal marketplace. When pursuing the mega-contracts noted above, no one small business can self-perform the entire contract. If it could, it would not be small. Therefore, teams of companies are often formed to compete for and win contracts.

Often, these team members have privity with the government agency and are paid directly for the work performed or products provided. Successful companies will plan for a three-pronged strategy in this ever-evolving market; switching between the prime, subcontractor or team member hat then depends on the needs of the upcoming contract.

Check with the winning contractors noted below for subcontracting and teaming opportunities on these, among other, upcoming contracts.

Join the Government Contracting Institute for ‘Fundamental Contract and Project Management” on May 7, 2013

“Fundamental Contract and Project Management,” the next course for the Government Contracting Institute will take place at the bwtech@UMBC Research Park on May 7, 2013. The course, sponsored by both bwtech@UMBC and TargetGov, will discuss the techniques to manage contract delivery, budget, staffing, risk and quality while fostering the client relationship; being responsive to needs of project staff; meeting company financial and project goals, creating third party relationships to add value or fill gaps, and understanding differences between risks and threats.

April Wennerberg is the instructor for the course. As the President and Founder of Project Masters Inc. April has over 25 years of project management experience in a variety of industries. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), her subject matter expertise positions her well to serve attendees of the course and help them see success selling to the federal government.

Learn more about April Wennerberg here.

Being able to meet the needs of the government in a timely and well thought-out manner is crucial to improving and maintaining past performance metrics. This course will teach you how to manage a contract using project management principals and help you continue seeing success in the federal government marketplace.

Who Should Attend?
•    Managers
•    Business Development
•    Proposal Writers
•    New Federal Contractors
•    Experienced Federal Contractors

What Will You Learn?
•    Develop Project Charter
•    Develop Stakeholder register
•    Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
•    Develop Scope of workDevelop a schedule
•    Manage a contract
•    Track project progress
•    Manage project cost
•    Manage project risk
•    Use Earned Value Method
•    Manage team
•    Close contract project

For more information about the course or to register email GovernmentContractingInstitute@TargetGov.com, visit www.GovernmentContractingInstitute.com or call 443-543-5067.

Two Part Webinar Series Hosted by the National Veteran Owned Business Association and Presented by Gloria Larkin

Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov, will be presenting a two part webinar hosted by the National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) on April 9^th and 11^th. These webinars are designed to address some of the changes going on in the volatile marketplace of federal contracting and help businesses see success.

Part one of the webinar will focus on the critical foundation: elements in which every business must be fully compliant and areas that many businesses. Mrs. Larkin is ready to cover the new normal in federal contracting and part one of this series will allow companies to set themselves apart from the competition.

Part two addresses the next steps required to see success in contracting. The ways a business can get in front of the key decision makers who purchase or advocate for contracts. Mrs. Larkin will also cover marketing, business development, mandatory and optional contract vehicles, tips for building relationships and crippling mistakes to avoid.

With these two parts attendees will have the tools necessary to adapt and change to a diverse and competitive marketplace. Click here for more information about NaVOBA. Click here to register for either part of the webinars.

Upcoming Course in the Government Contracting Institute: “Proposal Writing Tools for Success”

On April 16, 2013 the next course in the GovernmentContracting Institute’s series of courses, “Proposal Writing Tools for Success” will take place at bwtech@UMBC’s Cyber Incubator located at 5520 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228.

The instructor for this course is Dr. Robert Frey, Principal and Co-Owner in the consultancy, Successful Proposal Strategies, LLC in Northern Virgina. Dr. Frey has been instrumental in helping his customers attain $3.854 billion in funded, multi-year contract awards within defense, civilian, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies.

What attendees will learn about during the course:

-Providing evidence of Significant Strengths, the precise elements that the Federal Government will look for and assess during the formal evaluation of your proposal

-Constructing compelling "Understanding" and "Approach" sections of your proposal to achieve a maximum score

-Generating key conceptual graphics early in the proposal development lifecycle to help guide your thinking and writing

-Writing proposal sections effectively and efficiently - with clear focus on tangible and intangible benefits to the customer's mission and evolving business requirements

-Addressing both stated and unstated customer requirements and expectations in your proposal document to offer those critical elements that are being sought

-Crafting compelling, fact-based proposal stories that resonate with the evaluators during source selection

-Implementing proven proposal production and publication scenarios - balancing process versus content issues

-Applying innovative Knowledge Management (KM) processes and tools to proposal development to save time and money as well as leverage "what you know"

What have people been saying about past institute courses?

“Highly experienced, qualified professionals who can speak to a level the audience can clearly understand!”

“This was a great experience!”

“Speakers and materials were well-experienced and knowledgeable!”

“Fabulous, down-to-earth, easy to understand information that I’ve been looking for, for two years!”

“Excellent presentation. Jam packed with actionable information.”

To register for the course or receive more information about the Government Contracting Institute, click here.

TargetGov used InstantPublisher to Self-Publish the Book, Veterans Business Guide, now in the 5th reprinting!

TargetGov self-published the Veterans Business Guide, a complete guide designed to help military veteran business owners see success in the Federal Contracting Marketplace, utilizing InstantPublisher successfully to accomplish the normally arduous task.

The quality of the books we received was top notch, the printing was timely and reasonably priced. We’re currently in the process of revising the Veterans Business Guide for the 6th update, and we will be using InstantPublisher again to meet our self-publishing needs.
Click here to learn more about InstantPublisher and the services they offer.

To learn more about the Veterans Business Guide, click here.”