Ever since the issuance of Executive Order 14028, issued in May 2021 to improve cybersecurity across the entire government by implementing a zero trust architecture, federal agencies have been hard at work to meet the requirement. Then, in October 2023 – less than 18 months later – a new executive order, 14110, was released on the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” These are...

Agencies increasingly rely on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms such as Salesforce for mission-critical functions, which offers them numerous benefits including flexibility, reducing upfront IT resource costs and delegating upgrades and patches to the provider. Using Salesforce does not remove the agencies’ responsibility for cybersecurity, however, and SaaS applications face their own risks, including misconfigurations, poor access...

Government today faces a long list of imperatives in serving and defending its constituents while supporting and empowering its workforce. Constituents must trust that their need for essential services can be met with transparency, without sacrificing their privacy and security. Agencies and customers alike must feel safe from internal and external threats, including cyberattacks that could cripple infrastructure and disrupt vital services. Em...

The premise of Moore’s law is that the speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every two years. Unspoken but implied is that new technologies will be introduced at a similar clip – along with new, sometimes unforeseen, challenges. Cybersecurity professionals know all about Moore’s law. For instance, the past 18 months has brought artificial intelligence (AI) into the mainstream, introducing plenty of both...

In today’s interconnected digital landscape, application programming interfaces (APIs) play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless communication and data exchange between various applications and systems. However, with this increased connectivity comes heightened security risks, particularly concerning the protection of sensitive data in those APIs. One of the most notorious examples of API risk is the Cambridge Analytica scandal in the...

The continuous evolution of technology presents us with a dynamic landscape filled with both promise and challenges. As the internet gained widespread adoption, it revolutionized various aspects of our lives, introducing innovations such as online shopping and real-time news updates, alongside issues like spam, phishing, and malware. Traditionally, government entities have been cautious in adopting new technologies, often due to regulatory con...

States’ voter registration systems and voter access have undergone a host of changes over the past five years, thanks in large part to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many states expanded vote-by-mail options, stepped up automatic voter registration programs, or both. Cities took action, as well – Los Angeles, for instance, has overhauled its voting system infrastructure, using open source, the cloud, and cybersecurity partnerships to updat...

From the delivery of healthcare and public benefits to emergency management and national security, generative AI – GenAI, for short – presents opportunities for governments to enhance constituent services. GenAI can empower front-line civil servants, improve the accessibility of public services, and enhance back-office processes. In pursuit of these benefits, federal spending on AI increased 22 percent since 2021—and 250 perc...