In this week’s episode of Fed’s At the Edge, we are talking about US Elections. From observations about challenges seen in previous elections to best practices to ensure a safe and fair election process.  

We’ll explore sources of help for election officials like utilizing CISA, local associations, and the US Election Assistance Commission. We also touch on critical areas like cybersecurity, communications, and physical security.  

Mark Earley, Supervisor of Elections for Leon County, FL, shares how election professionals should be aware of phishing vulnerabilities as they honor the responsibility of answering citizens emails  

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to hear this and more, and learn how you can get involved.  

People imagine large organizations such as the Department of Transportation when they think about who needs to utilize Zero Trust. What they don’t realize is that a smaller entity can make for a profitable attack, even a gateway to those larger targets.  

In this week's Feds At The Edge podcast, Nick Graham, Senior Technical Sales Engineer of Civilian Sales from Raven Tek offers some solutions that smaller institutions should prioritize in their transition to a safer cybersecurity posture. 

>> Multifactor Authentication – How this framework for larger organizations can move to eliminate many security problems 

>> Staffing limitations – A look at those challenges of limited budgets and cost-effective ways to manage services.  

>> Training, training, and training- Recognizing potential attacks in your company inbox. Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform to hear Nick’s practical solutions for smaller organizations to

enhance their security posture.  

When the federal government adopts Zero Trust principles, it must consider both user identity and the data being accessed. 

This week on Feds At the Edge, leaders from federal and commercial sectors stress the importance of centralized coordination, automated labeling, and real-time access control through Identity Management.  

Bryan Rosensteel, US Federal CTO for Ping, advocates for a "federated" identity management system, as individual agencies may struggle to meet Zero Trust demands in a timely manner.  

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform as participants also discuss the merits of access-based and role-based controls, suggesting that context-based controls could enhance real-time access management.  

In this week’s episode of Fed’s At the Edge, we talk with agency and industry experts about the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in government, where improved knowledge management and a reduction on tedious tasks are just some of the benefits waiting to be unlocked.  

We’ll explore the large Knowledge Management Platform CMS has put together to assist federal professionals access information. 

We’ll look at how AI and LLMs should be viewed as an extension of human abilities and how organizations may have to ethically organize new policies on using AI to derive information from LLMs.  

We’ll ask if turning to “synthetic” data is the answer to generate insight on sensitive data while not compromising personal and identifiable information.  

Disputes over the 2020 presidential election have persisted for four years.  

This week on Feds At the Edge, we discuss best practices to ensure the 2024 election's safety and accuracy with a focus on the need for robust cybersecurity measures, having a strategy to respond to cyber threats and the need to have strong partnerships with the private sector. 

Lester Godsey, CISO, Enterprise Technology for Maricopa County, Pheonix AZ, highlights the influence of social media on election integrity, suggesting that false information can impact the voter’s predisposition to vote.  

Jim Richberg, Head of Cyber Policy and Global Field CISO for Fortinet, discusses the effects of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation which could cause people’s perception of the election to be altered. 

To achieve a successful digital transformation in your organization, it’s essential to consider the users. 

This week on Feds At the Edge, we have gathered leading experts from City of Brownsville, TX, Delaware Department of Technology and Information, California Department of Technology, City of Roseville, CA, and Equinix who share valuable insights into making meaningful changes in their respective organizations. 

• Focus on User Experience: when you prioritize user experience, you make them feel included and they become more willing to transition.  
• Effective Communication: clearly communicating with staff about the project’s vision and each person’s responsibilities, helps staff feel part of the process and understand the tangible benefits of the new implementation. 
• Engagement and Benefits: by focusing on the people engaging with the change, ensuring that users see real benefits and feel involved in the process. 

 Chat GPT has made AI a household term, citizens can quickly gather useful data such as where the best places to travel through Italy are. But how are agencies using artificial intelligence technologies when it comes to larger and more serious topics, such as nuclear weapon distribution? 

This week on Feds At the Edge, we have gathered leading experts from the FDA, National Cancer Institute and ICE who share their thoughts as agencies focus on data integrity, evolution of AI and the importance of training.

 >> Utilizing use cases, particularly when you are gathering data information such as gathering data from life-and-death cancer studies.  

>> Allowing artificial intelligence to provide the basics so you can focus on higher-priority issues  

>> Understanding the human value- combining skill expertise to maximize the impact of what AI has provided.  

>>Importance of training. From new users to re-skilling the current workforce. Especially when it comes to shifting legacy systems to keep up with modern needs.

Zero Trust has revolutionized the way agencies everywhere are securing their networks, and this week on Feds at the Edge, we talk with titans in the field, including John Kindervag, Chief Evangelist with Illumio, who in 2010 coined the phrase “zero trust model.”  We delve into this stricter cybersecurity program where identity leads in the guideposts in defending today’s cyber landscape.

 Dr. Robert Roser, CISO with the Idaho National Laboratory agrees, “Without identity, nothing else matters.”   

 We also discuss the larger-than-life landscape that agencies are tasked with protecting. Sean Connelly, Federal Zero Trust Architect with CISA reminds listeners, while most know the big three cloud providers, there are over 300. Limiting our understanding to “the main and the plain” could lead to trouble. La Monte R. Yarborough, Acting DCIO, CISO and Executive Director, Office of Information Security, HHS, shares HHS is tasked with protecting 1200+ networks every day.  

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This week on Feds At the Edge, we talk about the ways state and local organizations can secure unstructured data.  

Jimmy Rogers, Director of Information Technology for the Colorado Dept of Higher Education, shares that up to 90% of the data he sees is unstructured, and knowing how to manage this data is key to keeping it secure. 

Terri Bettinger, Deputy Director, CIO of Ohio Dept of Aging, suggests assigning responsibility for data to specific individuals fosters accountability and ensures data is stored securely. 

Todd Haller, Reginal Director, Unstructured Data for Rubrik, highlights how simple changes, such as hardening Active Directory, can significantly enhance security. 

We’ll also look at the free resources and advice CISA offers on the subject.  

For the video of this podcast:  Protecting Critical Infrastructure Requires Robust Partnerships.

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Malicious actors are always looking for the “Easy Button” when it comes to breaching your system. 

  This week on Feds At the Edge, we are looking at the protection of Operational Technology (OT), critical hardware on premises. Traditionally separated from IT systems by air gaps, OT is now increasingly managed by IT departments due to the convergence of IT and OT.  

Few realize that OT has federal compliance regulations, just like IT. The real issue, should an OT systems administrator have to do repetitive work to comply with IT mandates? Marty Edwards,  Deputy CTO, OT/IoT from Tenable, noted that he has seen up to 80% similarity between IT and OT compliance standards, prompting efforts to reduce redundancy. 

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform as we explore some of the challenges of protecting critical infrastructure.