Leveraging modern access management to achieve zero trust

Federal agencies are working diligently to meet a number of zero trust cybersecurity objectives by the end of the government’s fiscal year this September 30th. One of those objectives involves implementing more granular access controls to federal resources so that federal workers have access to the data and applications they need while limiting cyberattacks.

In a new FedScoop interview, Federal Communications Commission CIO Allen Hill and Cisco Regional Manager of Federal Security Sales Jane Zipoli discuss challenges and advancements in this endeavor.

Hill highlights the significant strides made in migrating systems from data centers to the cloud, with approximately three-fourths of FCC’s systems already transitioned. “That’s a great accomplishment that my team has been able to achieve — we have about 400 systems remaining,” Hill says.

However, obstacles such as obsolete technology hinder the implementation of granular access controls essential for a zero-trust architecture. Additionally, balancing security with accessibility and ensuring interoperability across multi-cloud environments pose ongoing challenges that demand meticulous planning, substantial investments and proactive security measures.

That’s why collaborating with industry partners proves indispensable in surmounting these obstacles, according to Zipoli. She underscores the importance of leveraging cloud technologies with AI-enabled capabilities to simplify management tasks and accelerate deployments. “By putting it in the cloud, you remove that responsibility from the people in the agencies and help them be more efficient,” Zipoli says.

Hill and Zipoli also emphasize the significance of embedding zero trust principles into digital transformation roadmaps, fostering a culture of security and leveraging multi-cloud defense solutions to strengthen cybersecurity postures.

Learn more about how Cisco can help implement modernized access management.

This video panel discussion was produced by Scoop News Group, for FedScoop, and underwritten by Cisco.