FEDINSIDER

Federal agencies across the board are facing rapidly multiplying security threats, from nation states to criminals. Today's security operations centers (SOCs) are facing a barrage of "more." More attacks. More security tools. More devices and data. To eliminate current threats and anticipate future ones, your SOC must evolve, and fast. 

There are numerous mandates directing elements of cybersecurity policies and practices, such as Executive Order 14028 requiring Zero Trust architectures for agencies’ networks and software supply chain integrity, NIST standards for post-quantum cryptography and AI use, and FedRAMP 20x. All the mandates aim for the same result: cybersecurity in real time, continuous and dynamic monitoring, and the ability to tie different systems together. 

Join us as thought leaders from government and industry discuss the challenges involved in modernizing SOCs. 

Discussion topics include:

• Streamlining security tools
• Minimizing alerts and prioritizing critical actions
• Reducing threat containment time
• Real-world solutions from cyber experts

Most federal agencies are moving to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their systems and processes, in part as a response to Executive Order 14110, issued in 2023, for the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI, and in part because AI promises productivity gains and cost savings.

As expected with an innovative new technology, so far agencies have been experimenting with pilot programs, rather than enterprise-wide initiatives. They are wrestling with several challenges to scaling up their pilots, such as poor data quality, governance and compliance obstacles, integration hurdles, and lack of dedicated budgets.

Learning Objectives:

• Define metrics for ROI, productivity, and social benefit
• Draw from case studies that discuss moving from pilots to scaled implementations
• Outline lessons learned from practical deployment of AI across the private sector

As agencies move to incorporate AI tools throughout their organizations, many are finding that AI without orchestration creates new silos. The agencies that lead will not be the ones with the most AI tools, but the ones that deploy AI safely, at scale, with auditability and human oversight built into every action.

Creating a single “front door” for AI users can help make sure the AI is working for government employees, not the other way around. By creating AI “specialists” that can execute entire jobs from beginning to end, public servants can be freed up to take the work that requires judgment and empathy. This twin path to completing work assignments compresses time-to-value and provides faster outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Outline considerations for defining the line where an ‘AI Specialist’ can own a task versus where a human must intervene
• Evaluate ways to build human oversight into every autonomous action at a mission scale
• Identify steps to accelerate implementation to reap the benefits of faster time-to-value

Federal agencies are under relentless pressure to modernize their security posture as they face an onslaught of new, enhanced threats – from hostile nation-states, criminal networks, and hackers determined to stir up trouble.

The path forward starts with three proven principles: Least Privilege Access, which blocks users from gaining entry to data and software they are not allowed to use; Zero Trust architectures, designed to “never trust, always identify;” and microsegmentation, which allows networks to be blockaded into very small sections that can be walled off from the overall network.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to align these three strategies with required mandates
• Outline a practical roadmap for implementation across your agency’s infrastructure
• Delineate the ways these approaches strengthen your agency’s cyber defenses from the inside out

Federal agencies are moving quickly with AI pilots — but experimentation must evolve into secure, governed, mission-aligned execution. Articles about AI “hallucinations” including fictitious legal citations and quotes demonstrate the risks of using legal AI tools without appropriate context and human review.

Legal and regulatory teams can transition from proof of concept to production-ready AI workflows that are defensible, auditable, and aligned with federal mandates. Embedding governance, human oversight, and measurable value into AI initiatives, without increasing operational risk — is achievable and offers a clear path to streamlining legal operations.

Learning Objectives:

• Delineate where in the legal process your agency wants to make use of legal AI tools
• Outline the known problems found with AI legal tools (e.g., false case law citations) and the steps needed to protect against them
• Identify the regulatory frameworks within which your agency’s legal AI will operate and lay out the steps to incorporate their guidelines

In today’s zero trust world, federal systems integrators (FSIs) operate in some of the most complex environments—distributed workforces, partner connectivity, subcontractors, and teams supporting multiple agencies with different requirements. That complexity makes it harder to ensure the right users have the right access to the right application without relying on broad network trust.

A modern approach pairs strong identity signals with application-level access enforcement and continuous verification after login. This helps SIs reduce over-privileged access, limit lateral movement, and improve auditability—while enabling secure collaboration across employees, subcontractors, and mission partners.

Learning Objectives:

• Outline the value and benefits of integrated, real-time enforcement of both identity and access control
• Define post-login risk in and how continuous verification helps to counter it
• Recognize how identity and security are evolving as AI becomes embedded across your organization—and as AI agents and other non-human identities emerge in your systems
• Review your organization’s audibility, data control, and third-party/supply chain exposure

Microsegmentation is a critical security strategy for state and local law enforcement agencies aiming to comply with the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy. This policy mandates strict security, encryption, and access controls for protecting sensitive Criminal Justice Information (CJI).

The security policy ensures that law enforcement agencies and their partners securely manage biometric, biographical, and case data throughout its lifecycle. Microsegmentation helps meet stringent requirements for controlling access to Criminal Justice Information (CJI) by breaking networks into small, secure zones to restrict lateral movement of threats. Key aspects of microsegmentation for CJIS compliance include limiting “east-west” movement between systems; implementing Zero Trust architectures; and automating the classification of protected assets and creating dynamic security policies.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the connection between microsegmentation and zero trust architecture in protecting and monitoring “need-to-know” access to CJI
• Evaluate how automated policy generation protects both compliance and operational stability
• Define the role of microsegmentation in protecting high-value assets, such as database servers containing sensitive information such as biographic, biometric, or case report data

Almost all (95%) government agency leaders at all levels say they plan to invest in emerging technologies over the next five years, including generative AI (35%), yet only a fraction achieve measurable and sustainable service improvements.

Part of the challenge is reexamining the metrics used to track improvements in customer service (CX); after all, what is measured should change depending on whether government customers are being assisted by human agents or agentic agents.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop actionable strategies for leveraging analytics and advanced technology integration
• Translate digital initiatives into sustained improvements in stakeholder engagement, transparency, and service reliability
• Navigate legislative mandates and rapidly changing policies with confidence, aligning program delivery with measurable agency goals

The race to make smaller, lighter, yet ever-more powerful laptops and tablets has cast a long shadow over desktop PC sales. But the advent of AI is showing a more inclusive future.

As agencies address workers’ need to utilize AI to increase their productivity, new environments such as the “dynamic edge” require an assessment of the best hardware and software platforms for different types and locations of work. Laptops equipped for field work require connectivity and greater memory for on-site AI use. Desktops are generally considered the best choice for in-office AI work because they provide superior heat management, higher performance, and easier, more cost-effective hardware upgrades. An AI-enabled computer of any type allows for local data processing, which increases privacy, reduces latency, and works without being connected to the cloud.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of device classes (desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile) and how AI performance is affected by each
• Evaluate the distribution of desktops, laptops, and mobile devices among employees with high AI engagement and use
• Outline the benefits of using any type of computer with native AI capability and create metrics to measure increased productivity

Federal agencies are working hard to respond to budget and headcount cuts imposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in 2025, especially regarding cyber-security.

A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Carahsoft and Broadcom found that 52% of respondents say budget constraints have had a moderate or significant negative impact on their department’s ability to maintain core security operations. The same number also rank workforce reductions as one of their top three challenges.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify your agency’s priorities in strengthening cybersecurity to address pressing vulnerabilities, whether network security, data protection, incident response, or something else
• Outline the challenges specific to your agency, such as lack of staffing, misalignment with existing and future needs, and/or operational analysis paralysis
• Review methods used by other agencies to address manpower and budget constraints in the current environment
• Evaluate current approaches to secure your agency’s network environment and how they map against your current areas of concern
• Delineate areas where the use of AI-enabled automation can reduce manual work, accelerate detection and response, and enforce network and data access policies

City and county governments across the country are facing tighter budgets. Accompanying the financial pressures, these smaller government entities are facing rising service demands and trying to cope with chronic staffing shortages. In this turbulent landscape, agentic AI offers a way to improve services, cut legacy IT debt, and provide assistance to overwhelmed employees.

Counties and cities already use AI to improve public safety, optimize urban planning and transportation, and streamline internal operations. Using pilot programs, they can experiment with AI-generated public agents to identify constituent-facing solutions and scale them as needed.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish priorities for areas of immediate attention for agentic AI pilot programs
• Evaluate the steps to set up an AI public agent program, including the metrics to measure both cost savings and user outcomes
• Explore strategies for connecting key data sources and removing barriers that may prevent your public agent from serving residents comprehensively

• Identify the types of cyber threats your agency is facing and which AI tools are best suited to respond to them
• Delineate which cybersecurity activities can be adapted quickly for AI enablement (e.g., fraud detection through real-time transaction monitoring, phishing detection by analyzing suspicious email)
• Outline the steps to implement AI tools in order of priority
• Identify ways to incorporate theater MPEs into one overall solution
• Review the roles played by zero trust and ICAM in protecting operations while maintaining speed of execution
• Outline the role of AI in identifying and eliminating cyber threats in a battle space environment
• Identify the assets – from supercomputers to dedicated high-speed wireless networks to scientific disciplines – needed to meet the objectives of the Genesis Mission
• Evaluate the role your agency may play in executing a foundational science research project
• Delineate the internal and external resources required to achieve scientific breakthroughs in multiple disciplinary fields and identify overlaps in capabilities and objectives

• Understand how an agency can set priorities for using AI in cybersecurity, whether through monitoring for phishing, closing gaps and patching existing systems, or monitoring for malware that has been modified
• Outline the steps in implementing AI-enabled tools that can work with existing cyber defenses
• Define metrics that can measure the impact of using AI tools for cybersecurity
• Outline the role of drones, sensors and AI to improve situational awareness for first responders, including GIS mapping to analyze hazard risks and affected populations
• Evaluate how your agency is using systems that provide two-way communications, especially alert systems with geo-targeting capabilities to reach affected areas
• Delineate steps to ensure operational readiness, by testing systems, training first responders, and updating protocols to meet federal, state, and local emergency regulations
• Evaluate the value of a unified dashboard that tracks spending across clouds and allocates costs to teams, projects, and applications
• Delineate the steps to implement automated shutdowns of non-critical environments during off-hours and delete unused resources such as unattached storage volumes or IP addresses
• Outline methods for analyzing resource utilization and allocating underutilized storage and databases

The challenges and issues facing state agencies regarding IT investments and modernization are very similar to those federal agencies are dealing with, but often are compounded because state responsibilities (licensing, inspection, and citizen assistance, to name a few) are that much closer to the customers who need their services.

This three-day event tracks many of the priorities that state CIOs are paying attention to –cybersecurity, resilience, modernization, cloud computing, data management, using AI, and analytics, to name a few.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish a working definition of resilience for your organization
• Understand the complementary roles of cybersecurity and resilience in keeping agency systems operational in the event of a cyber attack
• Evaluate ways to use SIEM and SOAR to strengthen your SOC’s performance
• Outline how using modernization toolkits can speed the delivery of better services to citizens
• Identify the forms of hybrid cloud (such as public bolstered by private cloud) that best suit your agency’s requirements
• Understand the integration of SaaS platforms into your agency’s cloud choices
• Understand how to use data platforms to create governance policies that provide quality data
• Evaluate the use of analytics to drive budgeting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
• Delineate ways that GenAI tools can be used for better forecasting and making data-driven decisions

Cybersecurity consistently ranks as state CIOs’ top priority in IT. But resilience – the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to cyberattacks and disruptions, ensuring critical services continue despite adversity, and moving beyond prevention to focus on rapid response and continuity of operations when breaches inevitably occur – has not received the same kind of attention. 

A report in November 2024 focusing on states’ efforts on resilience found that 69% of respondents in the state/local/education (SLED) sector acknowledged that cyber resilience is not a whole-organization priority and a majority of IT governance teams didn’t understand what cyber resilience is. 

Learning Objectives:

• Establish a working definition of resilience for your organization
• Understand the complementary roles of cybersecurity and resilience in keeping agency systems operational in the event of a cyber attack
• Evaluate ways to use SIEM and SOAR to strengthen your SOC’s performance