Feds at the Edge

The 2023 FBI Internet Crime Report reveals that nearly 21% of ransomware attacks targeted the healthcare and public health sectors—making them the top victims.

This week on Feds At The Edge, we explore how agencies can defend against these growing threats.

Benjamin Koshy, Chief Information Security Officer and Director, Division of Information Security of Indian Health Service, explains the unique identity management challenge in healthcare: balancing open patient access with strict data protection.

Keith Busby, Acting CISO at CMS, outlines how to go beyond Zero Trust with real-world risk assessments and robust incident response plans - not just a three-ring binder gathering dust on a shelf. And Alec Lizanetz, Identity Protection Specialist from CrowdStrike, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing threats and using frameworks like CISA's to respond efficiently.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to hear practical, high-impact strategies to secure critical systems and protect patient care, perfect for healthcare leaders who must protect both data and lives.

Today's modern network has placed identity management in the forefront to manage a plethora of landscapes – on and off prem, public and private, hybrid, and the new kid on the block, alt-clouds.

This week on Feds At The Edge, we explore how the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is leading the charge in modern identity management, once a backwater concept, to center stage, with its ambitious program, Thunderdome.

Chris Pymm, Portfolio Manager, Zero Trust & Division Chief for ID7 at DISA, shares how Thunderdome spans 50 sites and 12,000 users, automating identity controls to outpace threats like lateral movement. We also hear from Quest Software Public Sector cybersecurity expert Chris Roberts, who breaks identity management down to its core: know the user, know the device, know the behavior.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to hear how DISA is redefining identity for today's distributed networks—and what your agency can take from their playbook.

"Shift Left" is a popular phrase in software development used to represent the idea of prioritizing certain tasks earlier in the life cycle process to avoid or easily identify potential problems before it moves on.

This week on Feds At The Edge, we ask the question – What does it take and what does it really mean to "shift left." Our expert guests share practical insights on tackling the complex realities of modern software design and deployment.

Amit Madan, Chief Architect, Center for Enterprise Modernization at Mitre, recommends preparing for potential gaps when integrating legacy systems with modern, cloud-based solutions—and ensuring clear delineation of security responsibilities between agencies and cloud providers.

Eoghan Casey, Field CTO for Own, offers a compelling take on risk: sometimes, staying put poses more danger than moving forward. He highlights the need for early collaboration with security professionals and stresses the value of cross-agency knowledge sharing to foster a culture of security grounded in risk management and compliance.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to learn how federal teams are embedding security into every step of the software lifecycle—right from the start.

As federal agencies move toward greater efficiency, cloud adoption is making the transition from optional to essential. But Federal leaders know not every system is a good candidate.

This week on Feds At The Edge, our expert guests share what agencies will need to know in order to identify which of their systems can move to the cloud and which systems are best suited to remain on-prem.

David Updike, CTO and Director for the Office of Digital Services & Technology Architecture at EPA, explains how cost frameworks reveal trade-offs between flexibility and savings, and the importance of AI in forecasting scalability.

India Baboola, Chief, Systems Engineering Division, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) for ICE, emphasizes that even the smoothest cloud transitions face a major hurdle: keeping databases synchronized and data validated throughout migration.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to hear practical insights on how AI, machine learning, and cloud-native apps are shaping the next wave of federal cloud strategy.

Zero Trust is more than a technology shift, it's a cultural one.

This week on Feds At The Edge, our expert guests explore how agencies can successfully implement Zero Trust by focusing on people, leveraging AI, and understanding risk at every level.

With over 600,000 employees and 1,000 applications, the USPS faced a massive challenge. Heather Dyer, VP & Chief Information Security Officer for the USPS, shares how clear communication, continuous monitoring, and behavioral insights were key to driving adoption. Joined by Prem Jadhwani, CTO at Government Acquisitions Inc, the discussion dives into understanding risk, managing access to critical assets, and integrating Zero Trust with cloud environments and external partners.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today to hear practical insights and proven strategies to tackle Zero Trust in a complex environment.

The cloud offers incredible potential, are you making the most of it?

This week on Feds At The Edge, our expert guests explore three key strategies for utilizing AI to optimize potential, lighten workloads and ensure security in the hybrid and cloud work landscape.

>> AI for Smarter Cloud Management: Kevin Walsh, Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity Team at GAO, suggests turning your focus on what we've learned from past use cases, especially for those who are overwhelmed with the idea of where to even begin their integration journey.

>> AI-Powered Training for Cloud Optimization: Sam O'Daniel, President & CEO for TVAR Solutions, proposes if AI can generate summaries, why not use it to create dynamic, continuously updated training materials for cloud optimization?

>> Balancing Cost and Performance: Noell Rebelez, Cloud Services Program Manager at the Department of Labor, highlights the importance of cost analysis - especially around GPU expenses - to ensure cloud investments align with your agency's mission.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today as we take a step back in this rapidly changing federal tech landscape and explore actionable insights to help you maximize AI and cloud potential.

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Digital transformation has been a federal buzzword for years, but what's the first step in making it a reality? It all starts with knowing what's on your network and being able to monitor it before and during a transition.

This week on Feds At the Edge, our expert guests take a deep dive into the future of network monitoring and digital transformation.

Tom Gilmore, Enterprise Data Architect in the USMC, drops a staggering statistic: in just 2.5 years, over 15,000 applications were built and deployed across the Marine Corps—many of which are likely duplicates. This explosion of tools raises the question: how do we manage this sprawl effectively?

Joshua Stageberg, Vice President of Product at SolarWind, dives into the exponential growth of network monitoring tools, cautioning against "tool sprawl" and the siloed observability it creates. Instead, he advocates for a unified, single-pane view as the key to true modernization, offering not just insights into apps and data, but a roadmap for optimizing computing and operational efficiency.

Tune in on your favorite podcasting platform today for valuable lessons on collaborating with operations teams, addressing their pain points, and using observability to drive more effective and efficient digital transformation.

Everyone is trying to unlock Artificial Intelligence's promise. We have seen generative AI tricks that can summarize long documents in a flash, which is substantially different from the requirements of serious federal research.

Today, we examined some challenges scientific communities experience in applying AI. Quentin Kerilman from the PNN labs throws some icy water on AI enthusiasts when he cautions that using AI for many sensitive applications has no framework. Leaders must use their best judgment when including data sets in projects.

Ramesh Menon from the DIA warns that careful data collection must still be used. For example, one must use fair, unbiased data. Is the AI appropriately documented? Further, a scientist will always need multiple data modalities. When used in AI, it needs to be appropriately tagged.

Medical data has much theoretical value from AI. But this is the exact data that has double and triple protection. What about leaks and backdoors?

Despite all the challenges presented, transparency, human oversight, and collaboration were emphasized to ensure AI's practical and responsible use.

When the Federal Chief Data Officer (CDO) role was first introduced, simply knowing where data was stored and how to secure it was a major accomplishment. Today, CDOs are expected to be strategic leaders, driving data-driven decision-making across federal agencies. But how can they successfully make this transition?

This week on Feds At the Edge, our expert guests provide a roadmap for CDOs looking to expand their influence. Arjuna Rivera, Senior Solutions Engineer at Atlassian, kicks off the discussion by outlining seven key considerations for obtaining actionable, high-quality data—emphasizing the importance of clean, unbiased data, capacity management, and data mining. He also highlights the power of visualization and predictive modeling in uncovering critical insights.

Jiashen You, CDO for U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, then takes the conversation further, exploring how CDOs can collaborate across agencies to foster a data-driven culture. He shares insights on working closely with Chief AI Officers and introduces the Business of Data Working Group—a vital initiative helping federal data leaders tackle shared challenges and implement effective solutions.

Join us for an insightful conversation on the evolving role of CDOs and the strategies they need to lead with impact.

Despite the official launch of 5G networks in 2018, their full potential for federal applications has yet to be realized.

This week on Feds At the Edge, we explore the value of a mature 5G network and the groundbreaking possibilities of its next evolution.

Sal D'Itri, Chairman of National Spectrum Consortium, introduces the concept of a "network in a box," an on-demand, scalable solution that enables rapid adaptation to changing workloads.

Steve Vogelsang, CTO Federal at Nokia Federal Solutions, discusses the need for better device ecosystems, the potential for 5G in emergency services, and the importance of interoperability and resilience in large, geographically dispersed networks.

One of the most exciting discussions revolves around Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)—a game-changing application that leverages satellite connectivity to provide emergency communications in remote areas.

Andy Greig, President, North America for Druid Software, sheds light on why, despite seven years of development, the device ecosystem still struggles to fully capitalize on 5G's potential. Finally, our panelists offer insights into the future of 6G, the next step in high-speed, flexible communications.

Tune in now on your favorite podcasting platform as we uncover the challenges, innovations, and future possibilities of 5G and beyond!

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