CyberCast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 preparing for the future of cyber warfare.

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.

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 boost security in technologies schools depend on. Kelly Thiele, chief of phishing assessments at CISA, discusses more about this report, as well as how the agency's six core principles from its Cyber Essentials Guide provide simple, prioritized actions that other organizations can take to ensure their systems and workforce are cyber ready.

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.

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.

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 event.