Ep. 214 Revolutionizing Federal IT: The Power of Assisted Software Development
Feds At The Edge by FedInsider
Release Date: 08/28/2025
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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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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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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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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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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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...
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Recent studies have shown how AI agents have expanded the attack surface for Federal agencies. This week at Feds At the Edge, we’ll explore why fundamentals such as visibility, inventory, runtime, and least-permissive access control, are more critical than ever. Phishing and security training are good starting points, but developers must learn what tools to use to be able to use AI an appropriate manner. Rob Roser, Ph.D., CISO at Idaho National Laboratory, highlights the surge in APIs—essential for communication but prime targets for attackers. Stephen Ringo, Senior...
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AIOps, where artificial intelligence meets IT operations. This week on Feds At the Edge, we explore how AIOps is reshaping how agencies approach software development and system management. Experts will explore best practices for boosting productivity, from managing legacy systems efficiently to leveraging AI Task Forces to identify high-value use cases. We will also examine the minimal risk-high impact activities such as utilizing a help desk, which help service the needs of large organizations like the USMC. We will even touch on managing the changes in code...
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AI is no longer a mystery – it's a powerful tool in your day-to-day toolbox. This week on Feds At the Edge, we explore how government leaders are putting AI to work to unlock collaboration, streamline reporting, and turn mountains of unstructured data into smarter decisions. Christie Burris, CDO and Director of GDAC for the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, shares how her team developed North Carolina eLink, their AI-powered platform to help them tackle the challenges of sharing data and analyzing large amounts of data- saving an estimated...
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The father of modern management, Peter Drucker, said “If you can measure it, you can manage it.” Nowhere is this more true than in the DOS’s Continuous Monitoring and Risk Scoring program. This week on Feds At the Edge, CMRS experts explore how advanced technology has enhanced the capabilities of CMRS in defense across the DOD. Robert Kimball if C5ISR highlights today’s networks are so large, innovations in working at scale have to be employed. Communities must understand the principles of cyber defense to achieve effective defense. Tune in on...
info_outlineAI in software development sounds like a dream, faster coding, cleaner refactoring, and technical reports that actually make sense to stakeholders. But, what's the bad news in the classic good news/bad news scenario? Poisoned training data, compliance risks, and systems that are brittle and will not scale.
This week on Feds At The Edge, Alex Gromadzki, Assistant Director of Data Science at US GAO, and Steven Toy, Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure for ICF, unpack the opportunities and pitfalls of generative AI in federal software development. From source-citing AI to data security in the software lifecycle, they reveal why small, testable use cases may be the smartest way forward.
Listen now on your favorite podcast platform to hear how federal leaders can balance innovation with responsibility as AI reshapes the software development life cycle.