History tells us that countries tend to fight current wars with previously successful tactics. When they fail, countries adapt.

Today, thousands of companies are trying to comply with CMMC requirements. Just like in history books, they try to apply old tools to a new problem. That results in delays, partial information, and high cost.

Today, Feds at the Edge sits down with four Federal Systems Integrator experts who have successfully dodged the traps of old technology.

Nick Summers from ComplAi puts the problem in perspective. Old regulations and old tools were focused on compliance with a set of rules. Today, CMMC compliance is much more dynamic. Continuous monitoring is demanded, and old approaches won't work.

An example of an old tool, GDIT's John Sahlin has seen companies that operate primarily in the commercial space trying to expand into the federal marketplace. Because they may have used a GRC tool for commercial compliance, they think they can take it off the shelf and handle CMMC—a recipe for disaster.

They also stressed the importance of data inventory, the impact of new laws, and the need for integrators to leverage AI to reduce labor costs and improve efficiency.

The discussion concluded with practical advice on achieving and maintaining CMMC compliance.

Everyone has heard about fraud, waste, and abuse, but building an effective fraud prevention program requires more than identifying problems after they occur.

In this week's episode of Feds At The Edge, government and industry experts share practical strategies for helping federal agencies stop improper payments before funds go out the door.

Kim Brandt of CMS underscores the scale of the challenge, noting the agency processes roughly $1 million in claims every day. Justin Marisco from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service share how tapping into shared resources, such as Treasury's Do Not Pay list, the Social Security Death Index, and DHS databases can help validate individuals before funds are ever disbursed. Diligent's Jason Venner highlights why preventing improper payments is infinitely better than the traditional "pay and chase" approach and how the era of Big Data introduced agencies to analyzing massive datasets, while today's AI makes it possible to analyze entire datasets, rather than samples, to identify fraud risks.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform to learn how modern technology and cross-agency data sharing are shifting federal fraud prevention from reactive damage control to proactive defense.

Permitting delays can increase construction costs, frustrate applicants and slow the delivery of much-needed housing. But modernizing the process requires more than simply replacing paper with technology.

In this week's episode of Feds At The Edge, we explore how government and industry leaders are combining policy reform, digital workflows, cloud technology and AI to reduce permitting backlogs and improve the building approval process.

John W. Lane of the Town of Caledon examines outdated bylaws, inconsistent processes and ways to accelerate reviews without sacrificing safety. Philip Mosher of the Municipality of North Grenville shares how updated zoning rules, integrated workflows and dashboards can help expose bottlenecks and move applications forward. James Nyhus of the District of Sechelt discusses moving from paper files to cloud-based permitting and tablet inspections, while Salesforce's Nadia Hansen explores how AI could support document processing, workload planning and routine applicant questions.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform for a practical look at how government can connect people, processes and technology to deliver faster, more responsive services.

Identity is central to Zero Trust, making it one of the most attractive targets for cyber attackers. While multi-factor authentication has long been a reliable way to ensure identity, traditional MFA has critical gaps.

This week on Feds At the Edge, Mark Brennan from the New Jersey Department of Health, and YubiKey's Jeff Frederick, explore how phishing-resistant cryptography and hardware security keys provide stronger protection against modern identity-based threats while improving the user experience. The panel also examines why hardware-backed authentication is recognized in NIST SP 800-63 Revision 4 as a highly secure approach to cryptographic MFA and shares practical guidance for implementation, including starting with a phased rollout, engaging executive leadership early, and continuously refining the program to build user confidence and support long-term Zero Trust success.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform to discover how hardware-backed authentication can help agencies reduce identity-based attacks, strengthen security, and simplify the path to phishing-resistant MFA

Supply chain risk is about more than software and compliance checklists; it's about making informed decisions that strengthen security and support mission success.

This week on Feds At the Edge, Ryan Lewis of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology joins us to unpack the practical realities of managing supply-side risk in the public sector. Rather than getting bogged down in software bills of materials or endless certifications right out of the gate, Lewis advocates for a broader view of risk assessment, one that starts with developing vendor risk profiles and building genuine personal relationships with vendor representatives.

He shares his strategy for balancing tight budget constraints with strict security requirements, urging organizations to evaluate the actual value of their data before deciding how to protect it and to thoroughly examine their existing tools before wasting resources on yet another solution.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today as Lewis highlights that securing the supply chain isn't just about compliance and technology. It's also about fostering an organizational culture of collaboration, integrity, and openness.

Ransomware has become a far more serious threat to government than many organizations realize, and it's no longer just about paying a ransom.

This week on Feds At the Edge, cybersecurity experts explore what agencies can do to strengthen their defenses, including adopting Zero Trust principles, improving network segmentation, and planning for recovery before an attack occurs.

Cesar Gamez from City of Roseville, CA explains how ransomware attacks have evolved, from encrypting files for financial gain to tactics that threaten to expose sensitive data or target victims' customers if demands aren't met.

And Travis Rosiek of Rubrik Public Sector, introduces an even more alarming trend: "wiper" attacks. Unlike traditional ransomware, these attacks - often associated with nation-state actors - are designed to permanently destroy or corrupt data, leaving organizations with nothing to recover even if they were willing to pay.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform as our guests also examine the security challenges of hybrid and cloud environments and explain why collaboration and information sharing are essential to staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Technology is advancing at an astonishing pace. The number of connected devices per square kilometer is expected to grow from one million to ten million, and the transition to 6G is paving the way with dazzling new levels of speed and capability.

This week on Feds At the Edge, Arup Bhuyan from Idaho National Laboratory, Eric Freer from Sterling, and Jorge Escobar from Nokia explore how download speeds could increase from 1 GB per second to 100 GB per second, dramatically reducing latency and making it possible for federal agencies to monitor networks in real time and respond more quickly to cyber threats.

We'll also explore Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) and its potential to transform everything from drone defense to intelligent network management. Hear why experts believe agencies will need creative approaches that leverage AI, advanced encryption, and zero-energy sensors to secure the next generation of networks.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform as government and industry thought leaders discuss the need for international collaboration, significant investments in research and development, and the integration of AI to build faster, smarter, and more secure networks.

Artificial intelligence is evolving so quickly that agencies often find it difficult to plan for future implementations.

This week on Feds At The Edge, we dive into the importance of flexible infrastructure, realistic budgets, and thoughtful planning to successfully adapt to continuously evolving AI models.

Sumit Puri, CSO and Co-Founder of Liqid, shares that while 86% of data resides on-premises, leaders also need to understand how the other 14% is being managed. He breaks down the key security, privacy, compliance, and performance considerations organizations should keep in mind.

Ariana Tifft, Chief Data Scientist with the DoD Cyber Crime Center, explains how understanding existing resources and future requirements enables real-time planning and improved workload efficiency.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform to hear their insights, along with perspectives from experts at Optiv + ClearShark, on balancing what you have, knowing what you need, and maximizing results.

When it comes to air-gapped networks, there is an assumption that this is the ultimate protection for Federal networks.

This week on Feds At the Edge, we speak with three federal experts who share their observations that challenge these assumptions and bring potential cracks in this seemingly impenetrable security measure to light.

We'll explore how air-gapped systems can still be exposed through compromised supply chains, why patching and upgrades become more difficult without internet connectivity, and how manual data transfers using USB drives and external media can introduce new vulnerabilities. The conversation also examines critical questions around Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), software allowlisting, and strategies for blocking unauthorized executables.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform to learn why an air gap alone is not enough, and what agencies must do to protect their most sensitive systems.

Innovation often follows a familiar cycle: rapid expansion, followed by consolidation. Federal agencies are experiencing this firsthand as AI tools and models proliferate across their environments.

This week on Feds At the Edge, technology leaders explore the challenge of rapid innovation and how agencies can regain control before the chaos of disorganized, duplicate data and tool sprawl compromises their missions.

Jim Smid, Federal Solutions Architect, Palo Alto Networks, explains how observability now extends beyond servers and IoT devices to include AI models, tools, and their interactions with agency data. Jessica Souder, AIRS Specialist / Director, Public Sector, Palo Alto Networks, emphasizes that agencies should carefully evaluate new AI tools, validating them in controlled environments, and establishing governance before deployment.

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform to hear why our panel of experts agree that any AI deployment should focus on the agency mission, valid data, and that all projects should commence with visibility.