The new year began with a new White House executive order on strengthening and promoting innovation in cybersecurity, building on previous efforts, like the National Cybersecurity Strategy, to enhance the security of the nation’s digital infrastructure. Looking into 2025, Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Cyber Division Cynthia Kaiser said her division plans to leverage emerging technology like artificial intelligence to thwart cyber adversaries and better detect threats around critical infrast...
Jan 21, 2025•24 min
CyberCast, along with GovCast and HealthCast, will now be published in the GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts feed. Subscribe and listen today on the podcast platform of your choice.
Feb 13, 2024•52 sec
The Department of Education is kicking off the second phase of its zero trust strategy by focusing on security orchestration and automation response to stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape. Education CISO Steven Hernandez discusses how the agency is tailoring its cyber tools and technologies by automating manual processes and leveraging identity, access and credential management (ICAM) solutions to improve the user experience and further zero trust.
Jan 31, 2024•50 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Federal agencies are modernizing their cybersecurity strategies as threats continue to evolve. Faced with the National Cybersecurity Strategy, zero-trust implementation and recruiting a cyber workforce, agencies are primed for a busy 2024 in cyber and IT. Managing Editor Ross Gianfortune and Staff Writer/Researchers Nikki Henderson Whitfield and Jordan McDonald break down some of the biggest developments ahead for federal IT and cyber leaders. Featured episodes include: 7:05: The National Cyber ...
Jan 10, 2024•28 min•Season 6Ep. 1
The White House released its National Cybersecurity Strategy in March and is ending the year with the first permanent National Cyber Director in nearly a year . On CyberCast, we covered it all. Take a listen back to some of the highlighted interviews with federal IT leaders, officials and experts this year as CyberCast traveled to Hawaii , California and Maryland . Our team interviewed leaders from agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency , the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Secu...
Dec 13, 2023•25 min•Season 5Ep. 25
This episode we're diving into zero trust at the Defense Department. Specifically, how that is playing out for the Indo-Pacific region. We recently had the opportunity to connect with several leaders at the AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific conference in Honolulu where they shared with us how they're thinking about this quickly changing landscape and what it means for cybersecurity. This includes an update on DOD's review of submitted zero trust implementation plans, and also a peek at some of those pl...
Nov 29, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 24
FEMA is developing prototypes for AI use cases in cybersecurity implementation amid a White House artificial intelligence executive order that directs agencies to establish and maintain standards for safety and security of the technology. FEMA CISO Gregory Edwards discusses how the rapid pace of AI innovation is spurring partnerships across federal agencies to work together to leverage best practices for their missions. He also provides an update on the agency’s zero trust journey, how his offic...
Nov 15, 2023•18 min•Season 5Ep. 23
The Environmental Protection Agency is honing in on multiple pillars from the National Cybersecurity Strategy to secure critical infrastructure at its water and waste-water operations. The agency deems water security to be national security and is an area that needs critical attention. Efforts are underway to increase cyber awareness in the water sector and ensure systems remain resilient. EPA cybersecurity leaders Douglas Vick and David Travers break down what the threat is to the nation's wate...
Nov 01, 2023•39 min•Season 5Ep. 22
The U.S. Digital Corps is bringing innovation to government by placing early-career technologists at agencies. Operated by the General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS), the Corps’ fellowship program gives individuals the chance to work on critical issues at the intersection of technology and public service. Digital Corps fellow Brittney Wright is on the cybersecurity track, assigned to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Wright is passionate about cyber...
Oct 18, 2023•16 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Bad actors accessing sensitive government data through vulnerable weak points is an ongoing concern for federal IT officials, who are making securing data a top priority amid digital modernization. Challenges in data security arise when you need to balance it with efficient data access while keeping threat actors out. In this episode, we break down some of the best practices in this area and feature insights from federal leaders at the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense. Cited officials...
Oct 09, 2023•17 min•Season 5Ep. 20
The U.S. Digital Corps is bringing innovation to agencies through early-career technologists. Operated by the General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Transformation Services (TTS), the Corps’ fellowship program gives individuals the ability to find themselves working on critical issues at the intersection of technology and public service. Digital Corps fellow Jamila Crawford on the cybersecurity track in the program is assigned to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (...
Oct 05, 2023•18 min•Season 5Ep. 19
JCDC Partnerships International, which sits within CISA’s cybersecurity division, works with 150 partners worldwide with the goal of sharing and exchanging critical information allowing the U.S. to respond to cyber threats faster, protect the country’s critical infrastructure more effectively and relay that information to its international counterparts to do the same. Patricia Soler, Section Chief for JCDC Partnerships International at CISA, discusses the mechanisms that a fast-growing organizat...
Sep 20, 2023•36 min•Season 5Ep. 18
The Department of Veterans Affairs is amid a cybersecurity modernization plan to put identity management and zero trust at the forefront of the biggest security threats facing technology teams. Jeff Spaeth, deputy CISO and executive director of information security operations at VA, is a bit of a boomerang. A veteran himself and longstanding cybersecurity professional, he returns to VA under a new cybersecurity modernization strategy. Spaeth discusses what this “Zero Trust First” strategy looks ...
Sep 06, 2023•22 min•Season 5Ep. 17
In its recently released National Intelligence Strategy, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence outlines the strategic direction for the Intelligence Community (IC) over the next four years. In it, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines notes the dramatically changing environment in which the IC operates, including the IT environment. Innovation, information sharing and cyber workforce development are points of emphasis in the document, which reflects the input of officials ...
Aug 23, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 16
The White House recently released it National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy to enhance and unleash America's cyber talent. The plan addresses the workforce needs in the public and private sectors by introducing cybersecurity concepts throughout all levels of education. The document proposes making advanced occupational training in cyber more accessible and affordable. Agencies and industry partners have signed onto the document, which builds on longstanding White House workforce goals. ...
Aug 09, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Military cyber leaders repeatedly say zero trust is critical, essential and integral to the Defense Department's Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (JADC2) concept. A zero trust approach to cybersecurity helps organizations improve data security, manage users on the network and facilitate data interoperability, all key components of JADC2. Enjoy this preview of our upcoming GovFocus, “Zero Trust Enabling the Future Joint Force,” featuring leaders from U.S. Navy and industry. Register to watch ...
Jul 26, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 14
The Office of Management and Budget along with the Office of the National Cyber Director released a memo laying out cybersecurity investment areas that agencies will have to include as they make their budgetary decisions for the next fiscal year. We break down those investment areas, how it ties to the recently released National Cybersecurity Strategy and what to expect in the coming months.
Jul 12, 2023•14 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Emerging technologies are proving to be very beneficial to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration when it comes to climate modeling, behavior analytics and its overall mission. Not only has automation technologies played a key role in NOAA's weather forecasting and environmental monitoring, but also machine learning has been a huge help in the areas of threat detection and vulnerability assessment. Longstanding cyber leader Chi Kang, deputy director for operations in NOAA's Cyber Securi...
Jun 28, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Since 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been on a journey to the cloud to streamline operations, drive down expenses, better protect data and improve business operations. The agency’s Deputy Director of Infrastructure Operations Kendall Krebs explains how VA is looking to not only use cloud to improve the speed and quality of its application development, but also secure this digital environment — leveraging platforms like VA Platform One (VAPO) to speed authority to operate and trim a...
Jun 14, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 11
The Marine Corps is on track to being one of the most distributed forces ever with significant command, control, communications, intelligence and cyber capabilities. A unified network with modernized network equipment is critical to operating in this environment. Cyber Technology Officer Shery Thomas discusses the Marine Crops’ efforts to combine networks with multiple classification levels into a single enterprise, how the service plans to better secure its systems and bring those capabilities ...
May 31, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 10
The ultimate goal of the Army’s recently established Zero Trust Functional Management Office is to have a secure unified network that is defended by a fully implemented zero trust framework that will enable multi-domain operations and accomplish the Army’s missions. Col. Michael Smith, director of this office, details next steps for zero trust implementation across the enterprise to get to the goal of full zero trust adoption for the Army by 2027.
May 17, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 9
The Pentagon has a cyber workforce problem: 30,000 cyber positions remain unfilled, but malicious cyber activity isn’t slowing down. Defense cyber leaders warn future conflicts will combine kinetic and information warfare, elevating the importance of a robust cyber workforce. DOD Principal Director for Resources & Analysis Mark Gorak joins us live from AFCEA TechNet Cyber 2023 in Baltimore to discuss these challenges and his plans to address them.
May 04, 2023•22 min
Defense Department CIO John Sherman joins us live from TechNet Cyber 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland, to peel back the layers of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) and the department’s zero trust strategy to show how they’re informed by JADC2 priorities and contribute to better data transport and interoperability with coalition partners. Sherman also discusses how cloud initiatives at the military services will complement JWCC efforts.
May 03, 2023•15 min
Live from TechNet Cyber 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland, Defense Department Deputy CIO Lily Zeleke and Chief Software Officer Rob Vietmeyer discuss software factories, DevSecOps, zero trust and the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC). These IT modernization initiatives are transforming the department to be more tech-savvy as information dominance becomes critical to winning future conflicts.
May 03, 2023•32 min
Operating and hardening the Defense Department’s networks is a highly complex undertaking. Training and retaining the workforce, keeping up with a constantly changing environment of technology and emerging capabilities and threats are continuous challenges not just for the Army, but also for all the services. Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general of Army Cyber Command, discusses how Army Cyber forces are working globally to secure networks, responding to the needs of the warfighter and prep...
May 03, 2023•14 min
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded a $7 million zero trust prototype, called Thunderdome, to Booz Allen Hamilton last year and recently completed the pilot. Cybersecurity & Analytics Director Brian Hermann discusses next steps for zero trust implementation across the Defense Department.
Apr 19, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 8
As security concerns grow, phishing attacks are threatening students and educators in schools across the country. The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency’s new K-12 Report outlines what schools can do to better protect their systems from cyber intrusions and overall risks. The report highlights three key areas, including investing in security controls, addressing resource constraints and focusing on information sharing. CISA is also collaborating with the Department of Education to boos...
Apr 05, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Faced with growing ransomware threats, phishing attempts and more, the Department of Veterans Affairs is reevaluating what it means to be “secure” in a hybrid environment. VA CISO Lynette Sherrill outlines the agency’s cybersecurity strategy and emphasizes the importance of identity management through multi-factor authentication and least privileged access to secure critical IT systems and veteran data.
Mar 22, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Upon the release of the White House’s new National Cybersecurity Strategy, federal IT and cyber leaders reviewed current cyber risks and strategies at GovCIO Media & Research’s first in-person event of the year, CyberScape: Insider Threats. Managing hybrid cloud security vulnerabilities, reducing technical debt, limiting the spread of shadow IT and securing open-source software were major talking points.
Mar 08, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Drawing on her experience as a CTO in the private sector, Assistant National Cyber Director for Technology Security Anjana Rajan centered national discussions around open-source software security against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. Rajan identified risk drivers and solutions for bringing cybersecurity to the forefront of IT per the Biden administration’s new National Cybersecurity Strategy during the closing fireside chat of GovCIO Media & Research’s CyberScape: Insider Threats e...
Mar 03, 2023•21 min
