MeriTalking: Recent Episodes
MeriTalk
Enterprise security is undergoing a significant transformation as Federal agencies adopt cloud applications and a decentralized approach to networking. In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery sits down with Norman St. Laurent, Federal product marketing manager for security at Cisco, to discuss the intersection of Federal cybersecurity mandates and cloud-centric modernization. They explore how agencies are evaluating cloud risk and leveraging cloud-delivered security capabilities to not only meet cybersecurity compliance requirements, but also to truly secure data and networks – while reducing complexity and improving flexibility for security teams.
State and local governments are using more devices, applications, and tools than ever before – increasing their cybersecurity complexity. And with limited resources, many IT teams are unable to create a comprehensive view of their security posture as threats evolve in sophistication. In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s John Curran sits down with Peter Romness, cybersecurity principal in the CISO Advisors Office at Cisco, to discuss how overburdened state and local government security teams can gain control over cybersecurity data and quickly detect, prioritize, and remediate threats.
In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery sits down with Kevin Chin, director of generative AI, and Jackson Scott, senior research scientist for the AI/Machine learning accelerator at Leidos, to explore how agencies can overcome the challenge of fighting public perception of generative AI and prepare their systems and teams for enterprise-wide implementation of the technology.
Federal IT is experiencing an explosion of complexity. At the same time, government is being asked to innovate and move faster. To meet these requirements and reduce complexity, agencies must change the way they work – both technically and culturally. In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery is joined by Brian Mikkelsen, Datadog’s vice president and general manager for U.S. Public Sector, to break down the causes of complexity and discuss how enterprise-wide visibility can enable both technical and cultural transformation.
Efficient, effective government operations depend on interoperable systems that connect employees, citizens, and partners to the resources they need – securely. But legacy identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) can result in siloed, incompatible systems and inadequate access controls. In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Grace Dille sits down with Bryan Rosensteel, U.S. Federal chief technology officer at Ping Identity, to explore how Federal agencies can overcome the limitations of legacy ICAM to provide seamless and secure access to the right resources for the right people, at the right time.
In this episode ofMeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery sits down with Peter Romness, cybersecurity principal, CISO Advisors Office at Cisco, to explore how agencies need unifed cybersecurtity solutions, visibility across their enviornment, and comprehenseive threat intelligence capabilities to go toe-to-toe against bad actors – and earn the decision.
In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery sits down with Brandon Iske, a principal solutions architect at Okta, and Bill Wells, a senior solutions architect at Amazon Web Services, to discuss zero trust progress and challenges, why identity is the foundation of zero trust, and how Okta and AWS work together to help agencies achieve zero trust.
While the Federal government and large corporations may dominate headlines about cyberattacks and disruptive system outages, state and local governments are far from immune to system failures – and catastrophic downtime that affects the public’s trust in government. On today’s episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery is joined by Jim Richberg, the public sector chief […]
In this episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery sits down with Kathleen Featheringham, vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning at Maximus, to explore the big-picture potential of AI and how agencies can achieve immediate mission value from it.
In this MeriTalking podcast, MeriTalk’s Joe Franco is joined by Matt Lembright, director of Federal applications at Censys, which maintains a comprehensive internet map used for threat hunting. We’ll discuss the findings in Censys’s 2023 State of the Internet Report, the security vulnerabilities it uncovered, how Federal organizations can adapt – and how using data […]
Across the public sector, agencies are seeing increasing demand for faster, digitally enabled service delivery – and a better user experience, for both employees and constituents. In this MeriTalking podcast, MeriTalk’s Gail Emery is joined by Joe Jeter, senior vice president of Federal technology at Maximus, to explore how user-centric approach to digital modernization, coupled with emerging technologies, can dramatically improve the citizen, employee, and user experience – the total experience with government.
The Federal government and numerous states are concerned that user data collected by some popular apps could be shared with foreign governments, including China. In this episode of MeriTalking, Joe Franco talks with Lookout’s Kristina Balaam about the data that popular apps collect, how it might be used by foreign governments, and how bans on Chinese apps can be enforced.
The Federal government is facing a workforce crisis, especially with skilled technology talent. Retention, recruitment, and retirement issues are hindering hiring managers, who are looking to fill critical open roles in order to meet mission objectives and new Federal mandates. In this MeriTalking podcast, MeriTalk’s Joe Franco, is joined by Craig McCullough, Pluralsight’s senior vice president for public sector, to evaluate the skills gap and how to address it before it’s too late.
Cyberattacks, connected devices, and data are growing exponentially every year, into the billions, trillions, and zettabytes, respectively. Neither people nor traditional cybersecurity solutions can keep up with the data or the attacks. In this episode of MeriTalking, NVIDIA’s Killian Sexsmith and Matt Penn outline the burgeoning cybersecurity problem agencies face today and explore the Federal opportunity for new data approaches to form a powerful weapon against bad actors.
On today’s episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s editor-in-chief John Curran sits down with Ryan Simpson, Senior Data Scientist at NVIDIA and Mike Broadwater, Vice President of Technology Services at Government Acquisitions, Inc. (GAI), to dive into CV – applications, maturity, adoption barriers, and examples of how agencies are putting CV to work.
CISA gets procurement authority, NIST picks quantum-resistant algorithms, NATO creates 1B euro tech investment fund, and more. For more news and insights on today’s mission-critical IT challenges, check us out on MeriTV.
DoD and VA EHR oversight and rollouts, CISA updates to Cloud Security TRA, new DoD AI strategy, and more. For more news and insights on today’s mission-critical IT challenges, check us out on MeriTV.
FY23 DoD funding moves forward, TMF Board funds zero trust security projects, IRS expands use of AI-powered bots, and more. For more news and insights on today’s mission-critical IT challenges, check us out on MeriTV.
Martorana releases the IT Operating Plan, CISA deploys advisors on site at agencies, House approves medical device cybersecurity bill, and more
IoT ransomware risks, cyber incident reporting and workforce development, AI proposals, satellite security standards, and more.
DOE’s Frontier supercomputer is named fastest in the world; HHS launches ARPA-H; CISA, DHS, and DoD propose 5G Security Evaluation Process, and more. For more news and insights on today’s mission-critical IT challenges, check us out on MeriTV.
New TMF awards and requests for more funds, public-private collaboration on cyber defense, OPM’s skills-based hiring guidelines, and more. For more news and insights on today’s mission-critical IT challenges, check us out on MeriTV.
CISA issues emergency directive, DeRusha reports “tremendous progress” on cyber EO, MeriTalk publishes new research on CDM, and more.
Endpoint devices, or personal laptops, government-issued devices, tablets, mobile phones, etc. used outside of the network perimeter are key factors in a successful telework model. Keeping those devices secure from any location at any time is at the top of all IT team priorities. But are the security tools in place strong enough to combat bad actors, could Federal IT teams have too many endpoint security tools in their toolkit, and what is often overlooked on the journey to better endpoint security?
Digital security breaches have shown us that Federal agencies are more vulnerable than anyone thought, and their security tools are no longer effectively defending against them. This begs the question, what can IT leaders and staff at all levels do to better protect Federal networks? The short answer: it’s time to rethink our approach to basic security and how we defend every endpoint across the enterprise.
On today’s episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s Nicole Burdette sits down with Jay Boisseau, AI & HPC Technology Strategist at Dell Technologies, and Marc Hamilton, Vice President of Solutions Architecture and Engineering at NVIDIA, to explore the steps agencies are taking toward “digital first government” and what this means from a workforce, cybersecurity, and emerging technology perspective.
Following several Federal initiatives published this year such as the National Security Strategic Guidance and Cybersecurity Executive Order, greater collaboration between the public and private sectors is critical to better understand and manage risk.
As the cyber threats we face become more diverse across the nation and globe, security, and IT operations teams must encompass diverse perspectives. For MeriTalking’s first installment of the “Human Side of Cyber” series, MeriTalk’s Nicole Burdette sits down with Teddra Burgess, Senior Vice President, Public Sector at Tanium to dive into the importance of having diverse perspectives and experiences on an organization’s cyber response team.
On today's episode of MeriTalking, MeriTalk’s John Curran speaks with Al Ford, Federal AI Alliances Manager at Dell Technologies, about Federal AI readiness and challenges. Ford shares ideas on the most helpful steps from a technology, infrastructure, and workforce perspective.
Federal IT operations time and again have proved to be the resilient lifeline to vital citizen services during the COVID-19 pandemic. As government and society map the path to recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories and lessons of how government IT has innovated on the fly to meet the demands of the crisis and anchor more resilient services going forward. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we turn to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) five months into the fight.
Lower costs, reduced risks, and shorter time to achieving mission values are goals that are all within reach for government agencies that choose to work with enterprise data cloud provider Cloudera for support in open-source technical operations.
Federal IT has earned the status of lifesaver in the COVID-19 pandemic for its ability to deliver vital services to citizens in times of crisis. MeriTalk is chronicling those successes – along with lessons for the future as agencies turn to the next generation of service improvements. In this edition of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Department of Energy four months into the fray.
Federal IT has proven its value as the vital lifeline between government and citizen service during the COVID-19 pandemic. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories of how Federal IT is getting the job done – and lessons for the road to recovery. Our latest chapter of CIO Crossroads explores IT operations at the Department of Education.
Federal IT’s ability to sustain delivery of vital services to citizens stands out as one of the brightest aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories of that heavy lift, and the lessons it holds for the future as the nation embarks on the journey toward a more certain future. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we look at the U.S. Army’s IT evolution four months into the fight.
Time and again during the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal IT has proven its value as a vital service-delivery lifeline between government and citizens. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories and lessons of Federal IT success as the nation takes its first steps toward recovery. In this chapter of CIO Crossroads, we explore the State Department’s accelerated IT modernization journey in the midst of the storm.
Federal IT has bridged the gap between government and citizen service during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country takes the very first steps toward recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories of how Federal IT is getting the job done – and lessons for the road ahead. Our latest chapter of CIO Crossroads explores IT operations at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Federal IT has taken the ultimate stress test during the COVID-19 pandemic – and has withstood the strain. Fortified by ongoing modernization efforts, agency CIOs and their teams have ensured the delivery of vital government services during unprecedented crisis. As the new normal paves the road to recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling those success stories. Today, we go into the eye of the storm with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the second-largest Federal agency and largest civil agency.
Federal IT has played a critical role in sustaining delivery of critical services to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the government and the nation take the first steps toward recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories – and lessons – of Federal IT operations during three months of pandemic. In this latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we explore cybersecurity operations at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The unique ability of government IT operations to ensure the delivery of vital services to citizens has formed the backbone of the larger Federal pandemic response. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories of that effort in our CIO Crossroads series. Please join us for our latest chapter: Department of Transportation.
It’s hard to fathom the number of critical government processes that have had to evolve – very quickly – to meet the needs of the American people during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if this crisis has a silver lining, it’s the accelerated modernization and innovation being born out of it. MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we turn to the General Services Administration (GSA).
The critical importance of Federal IT operations in sustaining vital government operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing the status of universal truth. What’s much less obvious to the naked eye – and meant to be that way – are the security operations underpinning and defending the vast Federal technology enterprise. As the nation takes its first steps on the road to recovery, MeriTalk is bringing to light the untold stories of those efforts. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program.
The ability of Federal IT operations to adapt almost overnight to support citizens and workforce amid the unique challenges of the national pandemic is one of the few bright spots in the past three months of turmoil. The drivers of that performance are neither easy nor accidental, and depend on steadfast leadership. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories – and lessons – of Federal IT success during the pandemic. Please join us for a conversation with Federal CIO Suzette Kent, who spotlights the value of teamwork, fast action, and focused leadership in times of crisis.
Underpinning the delivery of citizen services, funding, and an all-important sense of normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal IT enterprise has provided firm footing in uncertain times. As the nation takes its first steps on the road to recovery, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories and lessons of the ongoing IT odyssey. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we explore the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s IT operations three months into the fray.
Americans rely on government services 24/7, and even more so during times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the critical importance of Federal IT in sustaining the nation, but left its tech leaders mostly unsung. MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those agency and leadership efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we turn to the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The COVID-19 pandemic has focused a bright spotlight on Federal IT. Leaders are turning on a dime so agencies can deliver vital services, protections, and trillions of dollars in financial assistance. As operations start to normalize, MeriTalk is chronicling the efforts of Federal IT leaders who are meeting the pandemic challenge head-on. How can agencies future proof government tech for what lies ahead? This edition of CIO Crossroads turns to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal IT operations are providing a resilient fabric that enables accelerated delivery of vital services to citizens during an unprecedented public health crisis. As government IT operations reach their new steady-state and map the path to further modernization, MeriTalk is surfacing the untold stories – and lessons – of those efforts. In the latest installment of CIO Crossroads, we examine the Labor Department’s performance eight weeks into the fray.
Often taken for granted in the eight weeks since the coronavirus pandemic struck is one simple but vital truth: the linchpin holding together the Federal government’s ability to provide crucial services is the technology that ties the enterprise together. Federal IT has literally brought us together – as a government, and as a nation. As government IT operations achieve steady-state and look to the next chapter of digital modernization, MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories – and lessons – of that effort. Today we check in with the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) operation.
How’s this for an emergency drill within the eye of the swirling coronavirus storm? As America social distanced, Federal IT has literally brought us together – as a government, and as a nation. As government IT operations achieve steady-state amid the demands of the pandemic, let’s begin to lift the veil on that story, starting with the Small Business Administration (SBA).