Inside Interior’s IT Shakeup: Lou Eichenbaum on Zero Trust, Culture, and Collaboration

On this episode of Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose, we go inside the sweeping IT transformation at the Department of the Interior. Former Interior CISO Lou Eichenbaum joins Francis to discuss how the department consolidated all of its IT resources and 2210s into a single organization — without a CIO — as part of a bold modernization initiative. Lou shares how phase one of the effort incorporated zero trust principles, expanded vulnerability assessment tools, and drove MFA compliance from 30% to 97% in just over three years. 

He also opens up about the biggest challenge of all: culture. Lou explains how Interior worked to keep mission focus front and center while unifying technology teams across bureaus like the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, USGS, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. From collaborating with park rangers and HR staff to improve user experience, to building a “zero trust certified” IT workforce, Lou’s insights offer a playbook for driving transformation in any federal agency.

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