Top military cyber advisors share what’s next in the zero-trust journey

If you missed last week’s Zero Trust Summit at the Spy Museum in downtown D.C., you’re in luck. We have a replay of what was one of the best panels of the day focused on U.S. military cybersecurity and the adoption of zero trust across the services. FedScoop’s Billy Mitchell was joined by Wanda Jones-Heath of the Air Force and Ann Marie Schummann of the Navy, principal cyber advisors for their respectives services, as well as Imran Umar, Booz Allen’s vice president of zero trust, for a panel that explored the progress made in zero-trust adoption and what comes next as the Pentagon targets zero-trust readiness by the end of 2027, including embracing the framework for operational technology systems and weapons platforms.

In the news: Government agencies responded with caution to the Office of Personnel Management’s request that federal workers provide five bullet points about what they accomplished last week by the end of the day Monday. The Securities and Exchange Commission gave workers a template to follow; the General Services Administration and Department of Commerce told employees not to send classified information, links or attachments; and the Department of Defense told employees to pause responses for the time being, according to emails obtained by FedScoop and agency statements. At least some agencies ultimately told employees participation wasn’t required.

Technical systems housed within USAID may be transferred to the State Department, including those related to global health, a source familiar with the matter told FedScoop, with about 40 systems potentially impacted by the transition. The USAID.gov website has now been updated to note the long-anticipated reduction in force at the agency, noting that approximately 1,600 personnel are now on administrative leave. A small group within the agency seems to be involved in discussions related to transferring technical assets to the State Department, the source said. Some of those systems might end up on OpenNet, a global network State uses for data applications.

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