Ep. 206 Dynamic Security: Central to Achieving Zero Trust
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Release Date: 06/25/2025
Ep. 229 Cost-Efficient IT Modernization for State and Local Agencies
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
All government agencies face the challenge of achieving ambitious IT modernization goals while juggling limited resources and seemingly endless needs. This week on Feds At the Edge, experts explore practical strategies to make modernization both achievable and cost-effective. Christine Maii Sakuda, State Chief Information Officer (CIO) and administrator of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services for Hawaii, shares how a dedicated change management advocate and early practitioner engagement can transform digital initiatives, emphasizing that...
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Ep. 228 Building a Compliance Framework for Providers and Agencies
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Cloud adoption is accelerating, data is exploding, and agencies are under pressure to understand where cloud provider responsibility end, and where theirs begins. This week on Feds At the Edge, experts from the State of Kansas, GovRAMP, and Palo Alto Networks share practical guidance for navigating today’s cloud landscape. Jeff Maxon, CITO for the State of Kansas, shares how to differentiate between infrastructure and applications and why responsibility shifts to the customer once you move into the application layer. Michael Gregg, Field CIO at Palo Alto Networks,...
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Ep. 227 Ensuring Data Security and Compliance
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
What if decades of security headaches could be solved with one framework? In 2011, FedRAMP was created to end the repetitive, time-consuming security audits across federal agencies, standardizing security to cut costs and accelerate cloud adoption. Fast forward ten years, and state governments faced the same challenges. Enter GovRAMP: a standardized, transparent framework based on NIST 800-53 rev5, designed to bring states together around shared security practices. This week on Feds At the Edge, data security experts break down the...
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Ep. 226 Finding Your Best Strategy for a Multi-Cloud Environment
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Making the transition from on-prem to the multi-cloud can be tough, and the real challenges often emerge long after the migration plan is written. This week on Feds At the Edge, three experts in the multi-cloud world break down the assumptions, surprises, and security realities organizations face along the way. Jessica Van Eerde, Chief of Operations for GovRAMP, offers three essential, practical suggestions for anyone considering a move: assessing security compliance, validating support and...
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Ep. 225 Bring the Power of AI to Cybersecurity
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
As technology evolves, so does our understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. This week on Feds At the Edge, we break down how artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity, where it can meaningfully improve defense, and what agencies should consider before deploying it. LCDR Ian Roessle, Deputy Director, Center for High Assurance Computer Systems at the Naval Research Laboratory, explains why vulnerabilities don’t always translate to real risk and emphasizes knowing your systems...
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Ep. 224 Strengthen and Automate Your Cyber Risk Management
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Today, we take a nuanced look at automating cyber risk management. Let’s start with ingress of data. Kemp Jennings-Roach from the DoD understands the concept of having a complete inventory of an agency’s data. Still, his experience shows that data coming in from multiple missions, potentially with various classifications, can be challenging. Combine that with varying kinds of reporting requirements, and you get a process that can overwhelm even the most experienced individuals. His recommendation is to consider a platform approach that can help normalize data, allowing...
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Ep. 223 Zero Trust: Improving your business continuity program
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Zero Trust isn’t just about defense - it’s about unlocking new capabilities across even the most legacy-heavy federal systems. When agencies move to a Zero Trust Architecture, the benefits go far beyond stronger cybersecurity. Integrating decades-old systems into a Zero Trust framework can actually centralize data, create consistency, and open new paths to modernization. This week on Feds At the Edge, Sean Phuphanich, Principal Technologist at AWS, explains how synthetic data can safely demonstrate cloud scalability in non-production environments, while Richard...
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Ep. 222 Tangible Steps for Government Transformation
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
AI promises efficiency and better public service delivery, but how realistic is that promise today? This week on Feds At the Edge, our panel of experts take a grounded look at what it really takes to implement AI responsibly and effectively across government. Chris Bunton, CIO, Texas Dept of Agriculture, cautions that past technology shifts - like the move to cloud - often took years to deliver a return on investment, reminding agencies to weigh AI’s costs and sustainability. Natalie Buda Smith, Director of Digital Strategy, Library of Congress, shares how the nation’s...
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Ep. 221 Building on the Zero Trust Foundation
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Implementing Zero Trust in federal environments requires more than technology, it demands a clear strategy for managing and protecting data. CISA recently updated its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Data Model Document (DMD), highlighting the most critical changes without requiring a full review of the entire framework. This week on Feds At the Edge, our panel of experts unpack some of the expanded concepts and explore some of the challenges and practical strategies for implementing DMD. Daniel Bane, Supervisory IT Specialist, TSA, highlights the...
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Ep. 220 Accelerate AI with Trusted Data
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Artificial intelligence depends on its ability to draw insights from massive datasets, but size alone isn’t the goal. This week on Feds At the Edge, our panel of experts explore how smarter data management can make AI faster, more efficient, and more reliable by focusing on clean, well-labeled, and right-sized information. Years ago, scientists dreamed of capturing data from sources as vast as satellites and as precise as atomic sensors. That dream is now reality, and today’s challenge is ensuring that this flood of data is organized and manageable. Thane Price of...
info_outlineAs cyber threats grow more sophisticated, federal agencies need security that can think on its feet.
This week on Feds At The Edge, we explore how agencies are evolving toward Zero Trust by implementing dynamic security—a flexible approach that adjusts access and authentication in real time based on context and behavior.
Justin Chin, Director of the Government Solutions Segment at Ping Identity, opens with a relatable example: when your bank flags suspicious login activity and adds a second layer of authentication. That adaptive friction is dynamic security in action.
Federal agencies face unique challenges based on their IT architectures. Paul Blahusch, CISO at Dept of Labor, explains how a centralized system allows broad, consistent policy enforcement. In contrast, Elizabeth Schweinsberg, Sr. Technical Advisor for CMS, shares how her agency’s federated model requires a more tailored approach to dynamic security.
Tune in on your favorite podcast platform today for insights into the different paths agencies are taking, why enterprise structure matters, and how collaboration is key to building secure, adaptive systems that support the Zero Trust journey.
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