Adopting Zero Trust

Adopting Zero Trust: Cybersecurity Innovation with Stanford Fellow AJ Grotto

Apr 13, 2023

AJ Grotto, cybersecurity expert and Stanford Fellow, discusses the lack of innovation in government cybersecurity and the challenges of scaling innovations. The speakers also explore cybersecurity regulations, the impact of budgets on cybersecurity innovation, and suggest solutions like dedicated budgets and revolving capital funds.

39:14

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Episode guests

AJ Grotto

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Quick takeaways

Government cybersecurity faces challenges in implementing innovation due to regulatory requirements and bureaucratic hurdles.

Cultural differences in IT environments influence the speed and ease of implementing zero trust and other cybersecurity measures.

Deep dives

The Challenges of Implementing Innovation in Government Cybersecurity

In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the challenges of implementing innovation in government cybersecurity. They highlight the slower pace of innovation in the government sector, which can often be attributed to difficulties in scaling new ideas across the entire federal enterprise. One major obstacle to innovation is inertia, driven by the layers of legal and regulatory requirements that govern IT procurement, management, and funding in the government. These requirements create complex decision-making processes and bureaucratic hurdles, slowing down the adoption of new technologies and approaches to cybersecurity.

Introduction

2min

Exploring the Lack of Innovation in Government Cybersecurity

3min

Challenges and Considerations in Government Innovation

17min

Challenges in Cybersecurity Regulations

15min

The Impact of Budgets on Cybersecurity Innovation at the Government Level

3min

For more than a decade, Zero Trust as a concept has moved from a philosophy and now into a practical architecture and strategy that organizations can adopt. While Zero Trust encapsulates much of what has gone well in cybersecurity for the past 30 years or so, does it truly offer an innovative approach or just iterative change? Is the concept positioned well so others can adapt it to their needs and prevent greater cyber-related risks? While we know it’s certainly not a silver bullet, and use cases are still reasonably immature, there is a firm argument for it helping to drive cybersecurity innovation forward.

This week on AZT, Neal and I chat with Andrew “AJ” Grotto, current Stanford University Fellow and Director of Security at Turtle Rock Studios (makers of Back 4 Blood and other popular video games). Prior to his current roles, AJ was an advisor at NIST and was the Senior Director for Cybersecurity Policy for The White House National Security Council. As a practitioner and academic who danced the line between public and private sectors, AJ is well suited to help us navigate the question of what drives innovation around cybersecurity if the federal government is behind the curve or creates chain reactions, and where policy comes into play.

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