Ep. 286 Securing Federal Systems: The Power of Continuous Monitoring

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A quick review of malicious activity shows large-scale cyberattacks being run without any human intervention. That means traditional penetration testing, which occurs once a year, can be easily defeated by massive, systematic attacks.
During the interview with Snehal Antani, CEO of Horizon Three, he highlights the importance of continuous autonomous penetration. He suggests that it may be the only response to a non-human automated attack.
Horizon3 has recently collaborated with the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center to develop the Continuous Autonomous Penetration program. He details identifying critical vulnerabilities not only in federal systems, but also in the Defense Industrial Base.]

Today’s cyber threat landscape is rapidly evolving, with artificial intelligence fueling a new wave of increasingly sophisticated attacks. Malicious actors now leverage AI to automate and scale their operations, resulting in large-scale, highly coordinated cyberattacks requiring little to no human oversight. This surge in automation on the offensive side has exposed a significant gap in the traditional cybersecurity strategies of federal agencies, which still largely rely on manual or scheduled defense mechanisms such as annual penetration testing. These legacy approaches are woefully inadequate against relentless, continuously evolving threats executed by automated tools that probe for weaknesses around the clock.

Federal leaders, traditionally cautious about deploying automated systems for cybersecurity, now face a crucial crossroads. The old paradigm—where automation in cyber defense was seen as risky—must be reconsidered in light of real-world evidence that manual processes cannot keep pace with automated adversaries. In a recent interview, Snehal Antani, CEO of Horizon3, emphasized the critical need for continuous, autonomous penetration testing. He argued that just as attackers use automation to identify and exploit vulnerabilities at scale, defenders must employ similar automation to uncover and remediate those weaknesses swiftly and continuously.

To advance this approach, Horizon3 has partnered with the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, launching the Continuous Autonomous Penetration program. This initiative aims to proactively identify critical vulnerabilities not just in federal government networks, but also across the Defense Industrial Base. By integrating automated, persistent penetration testing into daily operations, federal agencies can better defend against the nonstop, AI-driven threats now targeting every aspect of their infrastructure.