loader from loading.io

Ep. 234 Generative AI and the Federal Cybersecurity Challenge

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Release Date: 04/24/2025

Ep. 254 How QTS Is Powering Digital Transformation for Federal Data Centers show art Ep. 254 How QTS Is Powering Digital Transformation for Federal Data Centers

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Seventy percent of the world's internet traffic goes through Ashburn, Virginia. That fact has led to the growth of over five hundred data centers in Northern Virginia. Today, we sat down with one of those companies to examine its data centers and its relationship with the federal government. John Reynolds is the Director of QTS Federal. He has decades of experience in federal technology and provides the listener with an overview of QTS's origins, its values, and recent growth. He views the data center business as a real estate endeavor. Land is acquired, a facility is constructed, and it...

info_outline
Ep. 253  Managing Staff Cuts Without Compromising Code Security in Federal IT show art Ep. 253 Managing Staff Cuts Without Compromising Code Security in Federal IT

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? There is a whirlwind of change in federal technology. For example, Federal News Network has reported that 25% of the IRS technology staff have left. Additionally, funding has been reduced, data stores are increasing, and we are all trying to understand the impact of Artificial Intelligence. Today, we sat down with Phoebe Nerdahl and Sayed Said from SNYK. They offer solutions to address the challenges of changing technology in this environment. The approach from SNYK is to start at the beginning of the code...

info_outline
Ep. 252  From Legacy to Lean: Innovative Ways to Lower Costs in Federal IT Projects show art Ep. 252 From Legacy to Lean: Innovative Ways to Lower Costs in Federal IT Projects

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? Gregory Garrett, Chief Operating Officer at REI Systems, discussed digital transformation and innovation at the AWS summit in Washington, DC.  He has a fascinating background that includes a career as a fighter pilot, the publication of twenty-four books, and guest lecturing at Georgetown University. The stated goal of today's administration is to reduce costs and eliminate waste. Today's aging systems are prime candidates for innovation. Unfortunately, there is no "innovation" button that a federal...

info_outline
Ep. 251  Breaking Through Bureaucracy: Modernizing Federal Systems in an Era of Digital Urgency show art Ep. 251 Breaking Through Bureaucracy: Modernizing Federal Systems in an Era of Digital Urgency

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? Many of today’s archaic federal systems have been built over decades. As a result, they are perfected but also fragile. One obvious source of vulnerability is the workforce that created it. It is hard to believe that COBOL was released in 1960 and is still active in some federal systems. The individuals who developed the code for these systems are now long past retirement age. Some code was accurately documented, and some were not. As a result, the process of transferring to a newer environment is fraught...

info_outline
Ep. 250 Can Your Agency Withstand a DDoS Attack? How Radware is Raising the Bar show art Ep. 250 Can Your Agency Withstand a DDoS Attack? How Radware is Raising the Bar

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? How do you defend your website against an attack that can reach one hundred million requests a second? The federal government is in an unusual position: in addition to the "garden variety" attacks, such as phishing and ransomware, it is also subject to political attacks with a specific agenda. Ostensibly, they do not have financial motivation; their motivation is a political statement. Welcome to hacktivism. The tool they use is a tried-and-true, good, old-fashioned Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)...

info_outline
Ep. 249 Securing Endpoints in Federal Systems Amid Constant Change show art Ep. 249 Securing Endpoints in Federal Systems Amid Constant Change

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? Sometimes, one plus one is three. Back in 2021, McAfee’s Enterprise business merged with FireEye to form Trellix. Today, the net result is a company that generates $1.2 billion globally and $400 million in the public sector. In today’s interview, Ken Karsten details how federal leaders can use Trellix to improve cybersecurity in a federal world with rapidly increasing end points. Setting the stage, Ken Karsten reviews an Executive Order 14028  from 2021 that encouraged federal agencies to...

info_outline
Ep. 248 Federal Efficiency Starts with Talent: What HR Experts Know show art Ep. 248 Federal Efficiency Starts with Talent: What HR Experts Know

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? If you are a regular listener, you know that I interview tech companies to have them elucidate the ways they can help federal agencies reach goals. Today, I will pull back the curtain and sit down with an HR professional from a successful company to understand his business and how he is hiring technical staff. First, Kentro has been in business for over twenty years and has a formidable reputation for ethical and responsible assistance in federal projects. Jun Choi is the Senior Vice President of Human...

info_outline
Ep. 247 Winning Federal Contracts: Smarter Proposal Writing for Tech Leaders in a Shifting Landscape show art Ep. 247 Winning Federal Contracts: Smarter Proposal Writing for Tech Leaders in a Shifting Landscape

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

In this episode of the Federal Tech Podcast, host John Gilroy sits down with Vishwas Lele, CEO and co-founder of pWin.ai, and Larry Katzman, President and CEO of Applied Information Sciences (AIS), to explore how technology leaders can write smarter proposals in an increasingly complex federal landscape. The conversation dives into the current state of the government contracting industry, including how shifting policy initiatives are shaping new opportunities—and new challenges—for contractors. Larry shares firsthand insights on how AIS is adapting to these changes, the role of pWin.ai RFP...

info_outline
Ep. 246 Thales Powers Federal Data Security Against Quantum-Era Threats show art Ep. 246 Thales Powers Federal Data Security Against Quantum-Era Threats

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   Want to listen to other episodes? Years ago, the headline “Data Breach” was shocking; today, it is common. That may not be a problem for some, but the federal government maintains data stores that contain information about finances, health, and military matters. A recent report has shown that 50% of federal agencies have reported data breaches. It appears that it's time to find a solution. Today, we sat down with Blain Canavan from Thales Group to examine the usual suspects and the potential threats ahead. THE USUAL SUSPECTS:   ...

info_outline
Ep. 245 Women in Technology Leadership Awards for 2025 show art Ep. 245 Women in Technology Leadership Awards for 2025

Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

Today, we have a pattern interrupt. Instead of a standard 25 minute interview, we will sit down with five nominees for a leadership award from Women in Technology.   Each candidate sits for a "lightning" round of eight minutes where they answer three questions about leadership and give their reason for participating in Women In Technology.   In order to see who won, you will have to visit .

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/

Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com

Artificial Intelligence can be applied to code generation, predictive analytics, and what is called “generative” AI. " Generative means the AI can look at a library of information (Large Language Model) and create text or images that provide some value.

Because the results can be so dazzling, many forget to be concerned about some of the ways the starting point, the LLM, can be compromised.

Just because LLMs are relatively new does not mean they are not being attacked. Generative AI expands the federal government's attack surface. Malicious actors are trying to poison data, leak data, and even exfiltrate secure information.

Today, we sit down with Elad Schulman from Lasso Security to examine ways to ensure the origin of your AI is secure. He begins the interview by outlining the challenges federal agencies face in locking down LLMs.

For example, a Generative AI system can produce results, but you may not know their origin. It's like a black box that produces a list, but you have no idea where the list came from.

Elad Shulman suggests that observability should be a key element when using Generative AI. In more detail, Elad Shulman details observability from a week ago vs. observability in real-time.

What good is a security alert if a federal leader cannot react promptly?

Understanding the provenance of data and how Generative AI will be infused into future federal systems means you should realize LLM security practices.