Challenges and Practical Ways to Implement Zero Trust in Federal Agencies

When it comes to a federal agency making the transition to Zero Trust, sometimes, ya gotta bring in the big dog.

Greg Garret has written 24 business books and has decades of experience helping federal agencies solve complex problems.  Seems to me he might be able to give a good perspective on understanding the federal government’s transition to zero trust better than most.

During the interview, Greg covered a wide range of topics on making this transition. He was asked to put on his CISSP hat, then his Vice President hat, then his CISO hat.  The overall conclusion is no one company has the magic sauce.  Each agency will have to review what options are available and put together a “stack” that fits their unique requirements. 

The problem is, of course, it is not a trivial matter to understand all the permutations of offerings available to the federal government.  In a timely manner, a survey must be done to know your current situation and then be able to know what combination will optimize the spending to accomplish your goals.

Greg Garrett offers a couple of solutions. First, Peraton has put together a “Test Kitchen” for federal technology called the “Ecosystems Lab Environment.”  They have spent millions of dollars assembling proposed products and considering options that may have an impact on an agency.

Second, Peraton has put together a case study called, ”Guiding Federal Agencies on their Zero Trust Journeys” that includes case studies that put various combinations of technology into play.