Zero-Trust Implementation: Understanding NSA’s Phase One and Phase Two Guidance
The National Security Agency released detailed Zero‑Trust Implementation Guidelines (ZIG) that split adoption into Phase One and Phase Two. Phase One requires 36 activities and 30 capabilities to build a foundational trust architecture, while Phase Two adds 41 activities and 34 capabilities for expanded security functions. The guidance emphasizes a modular, budget‑aware approach, allowing agencies to prioritize based on risk, maturity, and resources. By translating abstract zero‑trust principles into concrete steps, the NSA aims to accelerate federal cybersecurity transformation.
Threat Exposure Management Establishes a Risk-Driven Approach for Federal Agencies
Federal agencies are adopting Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) to shift from traditional vulnerability counting to a risk‑driven security posture. CDW’s leaders describe CTEM as a five‑stage framework—scoping, discovery, prioritization, validation, and mobilization—that ties technical findings to business impact. By...
State Department Cyber Leader: AI Must Serve Mission Outcomes, Not Drive Them
At the Splunk GovSummit 2026, State Department Security Operations Center chief Manuel Medrano warned that artificial intelligence must serve mission outcomes, not become the objective. He outlined how AI is already sharpening cyber monitoring and incident response across the department’s...
At Splunk GovSummit, IHS Leaders Tie Cybersecurity Directly to Patient Care
At the 2026 Splunk GovSummit, Indian Health Service (IHS) leaders linked cybersecurity directly to patient care, emphasizing that security is a clinical enabler. Serving roughly 2.7 million patients across 37 states, IHS prioritizes resilience and real‑time visibility to keep care uninterrupted,...
How Does AI Affect Cyber Resilience for Federal Agencies?
Artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber resilience for federal agencies, with predictive AI bolstering defense through automated anomaly detection and response playbooks, while generative AI (GenAI) offers attackers powerful tools for phishing, deepfakes, and exploit creation. The dual‑use nature of GenAI...
Federal Agencies Turn to AI to Transform Contact Centers at Scale
Federal agencies, led by the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Labor, are deploying Salesforce’s Agentforce AI platform to overhaul contact‑center operations. By automating tier‑0 inquiries and providing real‑time assistance, AI is closing call‑handling gaps without adding headcount. Both...
The National Design Studio: What the America by Design Order Sets in Motion
The White House launched the National Design Studio (NDS) in August 2025 to overhaul the federal web estate of roughly 27,000 domains that see 160 million monthly visits. Backed by the 2018 Integrated Digital Experience Act, NDS aims to standardize user experience,...
Schneider Electric Federal Solutions Deliver AI-Ready Data Centers
Schneider Electric Federal is delivering AI‑ready data‑center solutions that address the unprecedented power density required by federal agencies. The company emphasizes turnkey, utility‑to‑the‑rack offerings and public‑private partnerships to modernize outdated infrastructure. A flagship $114 million energy‑savings performance contract at Naval Base...
StarTech.com Is Raising the Bar for Classified Workstations
StarTech.com has introduced a new line of secure KVM switches designed for classified workstations, achieving National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) compliance and supporting zero‑trust architectures. The devices provide hardware‑based isolation that physically separates classified and unclassified systems while allowing a...
How Federal Agencies Can Start Their SRE Journey
Federal agencies are turning to Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) to meet rising expectations for fast, dependable digital services. The guide recommends starting with robust observability to turn raw telemetry into actionable signals, then defining service‑level indicators (SLIs) and objectives (SLOs)...
Even AI-Free Agencies Should Be Standing Up the Data Foundation Now
Civilian agencies are urged to build AI‑ready data foundations before adopting generative or agentic models. The roadmap includes establishing data‑governance guardrails, deploying zero‑trust network segmentation, and upgrading hardware to GPU‑enabled servers with DDR5 RAM. Bandwidth must jump from legacy 1‑Gbps...
Winter 2026
The Winter 2026 issue of FedTech Magazine surveys the federal government’s tech agenda, spotlighting AI‑enabled zero‑trust, cloud‑first modernization, and legacy hardware like NASA’s GRiD Compass. It features a Q&A with Palo Alto’s Eric Trexler on identity‑first, AI‑secure cyberdefenses, and examines whether...
Federal AI Needs a New Data Foundation. Dell’s Platform Is Built for It.
The federal government is accelerating its adoption of generative AI, retrieval‑augmented generation, and early agentic systems, but agencies are constrained by legacy data architectures. Dell’s AI data platform offers a secure, federated foundation that lets classified and regulated data remain...
What Federal IT Leaders Should Know About the Emerging National AI Policy Framework
At the end of 2025 the White House issued an executive order directing the Commerce Department, FCC and other agencies to develop a national AI policy framework, aiming to pre‑empt a fragmented landscape created by roughly 1,200 state AI bills...
AI Is Causing a Power and Cooling Headache for Agencies
The latest NVIDIA AI processors are forcing federal agencies to confront unprecedented power and cooling requirements. Agencies must secure trusted partners or conduct assessments to size generators, UPS systems, and transfer switches, while private‑sector spenders are willing to invest over...
DOD Is Finally Leaning Into CMMC 2.0 Requirements for CUI
The Department of Defense has accelerated enforcement of CMMC 2.0 for contracts handling Controlled Unclassified Information, a shift driven by recent White House contracting reforms. Since January, more DoD solicitations explicitly require specific CMMC levels, prompting contractors to prove their data‑security...
3 Ways Federal IT Leaders Can Maximize Existing Tech
Federal IT leaders are urged to extract more value from the cloud, VPNs, and collaboration tools acquired during the pandemic as agencies navigate return‑to‑office mandates. Optimizing platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet, expanding zero‑trust and endpoint management, and...
Fact or Fallacy: Digital Workplaces Involve Far More Than Purchasing Solutions
The article separates digital workplaces from broader digital transformation, emphasizing that they are purpose‑built ecosystems for remote and hybrid work. It debunks common myths—such as the notion that digital workplaces are purely technology projects or cause downtime—by highlighting flexibility, productivity,...
Air Force Explores CRM Strategy to Improve Digital Services
The U.S. Air Force is piloting a customer‑relationship‑management (CRM) strategy built on ServiceNow to unify fragmented legacy systems and multiple ServiceNow instances. By centralizing citizen, contractor and partner interactions, the Air Force aims to deliver a consistent digital experience while...
Federal Technology Lifecycle Management Adopts AI and Automation
Federal agencies are turning to AI and automation to revamp technology lifecycle management (TLM) as the federal workforce shrinks by roughly 317,000 employees in 2025. Real‑time asset visibility and predictive analytics enable proactive maintenance, allowing agencies to shift resources from...
FedRamp 20x Opens the Door to Fast Access to Secure Services
FedRAMP 20x redesigns the federal cloud‑security authorization process by eliminating the agency sponsor requirement and introducing a cloud‑native path that can deliver approvals in weeks instead of years. Automation replaces narrative controls with machine‑readable evidence, targeting over 80% validation through continuous‑monitoring...
Q&A: Palo Alto’s Eric Trexler Urges Identity-First, AI-Secure, Platformized Cyberdefenses
Eric Trexler, senior VP for the public sector at Palo Alto Networks, highlighted the federal government’s massive, fragmented cyber‑attack surface and the $27 billion FY 2025 cybersecurity budget, of which roughly $1.8 billion targets identity management. He noted that while agencies have made...
Security as a Service Enhances Federal Cybersecurity and Improves Scalability
Federal agencies are increasingly turning to Security as a Service (SECaaS) to maintain cyber defenses amid staffing cuts and the recent shutdown. The Navy, VA, Energy, Justice and Homeland Security rely on FedRAMP‑authorized AWS and Azure tools such as GuardDuty,...
WEST 2026: Digital Transformation Teams Are a Core Part of the Marines’ AI Strategy
The Marine Corps has fielded six Digital Transformation Teams (DXTs) and plans two additional deployments to complete coverage across its three Marine Expeditionary Forces. These teams operationalize the service’s 2024 AI strategy by piloting AI solutions, managing risk, and closing...
Federal Agencies Embrace Networking as a Service to Modernize Their Networks
Federal agencies such as CISA and the VA are rapidly adopting Network as a Service (NaaS) to replace legacy network infrastructure. By partnering with FedRAMP‑authorized providers like Cisco Meraki and Juniper Mist, they gain cloud‑native agility, scalable security, and AI‑driven...