Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

In this podcast, the hosts discuss the importance of identity management in the federal sector, with a focus on the rise of IAM in the COVID-19 era. They explore advancements in passwordless authentication, the complexities of managing identities in a hybrid cloud environment, and the relationship between identity management and digital transformation. Additionally, they highlight the benefits of flexible APIs in integrating agencies and motivating government leaders to prioritize federal security.

In this podcast, Jim Richberg discusses the new national cyber security strategy and its six pillars. He emphasizes the need for a shift in liability to commercial organizations and incorporating security into software design. The podcast also explores the role of public-private partnerships and the challenges of implementing the strategy.

The podcast discusses the importance of multi-factor authentication in the federal government and the use of physical smart cards. It also explores man-in-the-middle attacks and the role of federation in enhancing security. The relevance of multifactor authentication in the face of COVID-19 and the need for flexible security policies are also addressed.

Once upon a time, surveys had meaning. However, today, if you buy a toothbrush, you are sent a five-page survey on customer satisfaction. Let us say you are trying to comply with the December 2021 Executive order to improve citizen experience with your federal website. What kind of feedback do you expect from a typical citizen who cannot take another survey? Today, we sat down with Matt Chong from Federal Qualtrics. They take a different approach to improving a citizen’s website experience. Qualtrics has been in business for fifteen years and is used in eighty-five of the Fortune 100. Qualtrics has a unique way of listening to users: by leveraging unstructured data. During the interview, Matt Chong admits that one can listen to a phone call and get a good guess at citizen sentiment. However, given limited resources, this approach does not scale. Qualtrics has the technology to look at conversational analytics. They can have a conversation and can generate an enormous amount of insightful information quickly. Even if you had a staff of dozens, you would not be able to accomplish the speed this innovation takes from unstructured data. Matt Chong shows you how to go from “listening” to “understanding” to being able to act on the information provided. You can automate the tedious job of call volume, website visits, and citizen profiles into one system that puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to analysis. Federal websites have gone beyond HTML and heat maps. The maturity of understanding citizens is at the next level – the level needed to be able to improve the customer experience at many distinct levels. Follow John Gilroy on Twitter @RayGilray Follow John Gilroy on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Listen to past episodes of Federal Tech Podcast  www.federaltechpodcast.com      

Advances in artificial intelligence are being released every day and being proposed as solutions for federal problems. Anyone who has raised children through their teen aged years is aware of the phrase, “unintended consequences.”  We must be careful not to be dazzled by modern technology and not realize what unintended consequences are in store before we understand the ethics of modern technology. Today, we have Reggie Townsend, the Vice President, of Data Ethics at SAS in the studio. He provides listeners with some commonsense guidelines to use artificial intelligence ethically. In addition to his technical expertise, he is a member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee. During the interview, Reggie talks about the problem in data collection. How do you know the data set the AI model was trained on? Is it a biased data set? How can you identify bias? SAS has worked at many levels of the federal government to solve some of these perplexing dilemmas.  It seems to come down to trust. A recent survey by Pew Research shows that 20% of Americans trust the government. Reggie suggests that one way to eliminate bias is to work with more diverse teams. The government is responding to some of these issues of trust. The Executive Office of the President has seen this situation and has offered a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights: Making Automated Systems Work for the American People” back in October of 2022. SAS has a website dedicated to helping people gain a better understanding of accessing quality data in an ethical and human-centered world. Follow John Gilroy on Twitter @RayGilray Follow John Gilroy on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Listen to past episodes of Federal Tech Podcast  www.federaltechpodcast.com      

Explore the benefits of Cloud Native for Federal IT Systems, including scalability, flexibility, and agility. Learn about the concepts of DevSecOps, Cloud Native Open Standards, microservices, and containers. Discover the compatibility of cloud-native tools with DevSecOps and the advantages of infrastructure as code and automation. Delve into the origins and benefits of cloud data, including collaboration and flexibility. Gain insights into centralized resource management and single sign-on. Discover upcoming data privacy conferences and Victory VIDOORI's products and podcast.

Painting with a wide brushstroke, there are three kinds of data:  data at rest; data in transit; and data in use. Today, we speak to the person who pioneered the concept of protecting data in use. Her name is Dr. Ellison Ann Williams and has an impressive background, having an MS in Mathematics, an MS in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. In Mathematics. Additionally, she served at the NSA for ten years and has a thorough knowledge of federal security requirements. Let us state the challenge: tech companies are scraping the Internet for as much information about users as they can. Storage is cheap, and they are running amuck. The regulation came in a delayed, haphazard, and geographically disparate manner. On the other hand, this kind of information can assist communities to help solve common problems. Allowing cross-border and cross-sector collaboration can result in impressive results. It is possible that longitudinal studies derived from this “scraped” information can help in medical analysis. Dr. Williams suggests that innovation in Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET) can balance both requirements. Further, the technology that allows for advances in-store & compute can also help to provide PET innovation. During the interview, Dr. Williams introduces homomorphic encryption. This is certainly not the place to dive into what it means for the federal audience. You may want to go to enveil.com/FAQ to start your understanding. Collecting data is easy, figuring out how to use it to benefit humankind and, at the same time, protecting privacy is the new world we live in. Dr. Ellison Anne Williams has some solutions. Follow John Gilroy on Twitter @RayGilray Follow John Gilroy on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Listen to past episodes of Federal Tech Podcast  www.federaltechpodcast.com

Most listeners have heard of Palo Alto Networks. Today, we bring in Eric Trexler to give us an overview of what the venerable Palo Alto Networks has developed to help federal agencies reach their goals. Eric started his career as a U.S. Ranger and has held leadership positions in many companies. He has chosen to work for Palo Alto Networks because he views it as the largest cybersecurity company in the world. From Eric’s perspective, he views it as the one company that can make a significant difference in protecting federal assets. He reflects on the thousands of point solution vendors he saw at the last RSA conference. Each one may have a valid solution to a specific challenge. The problem is that most large organizations may have between 40 and 120 products, all trying to work together. If you must add constant updates to these point solutions, it makes integration almost impossible. The same problem was faced by the information technology community with platforms; Eric suggests that there is a strategic advantage to having integration baked in before ever seeing a system. Automation is key in managing the challenges of running a safe Security Operations Center (SOC). Eric gives an example of the efficiency that can be accomplished with SOC management by referencing Palo Alto Networks. By using a platform approach, Palo Alto Networks SOC can be managed by ten people. This is amazing when you realize that Palo Alto Networks has acquired seventeen companies in the last four years – remarkable consolidation. Follow John Gilroy on Twitter @RayGilray Follow John Gilroy on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Listen to past episodes of Federal Tech Podcast  www.federaltechpodcast.com          

This podcast explores the evolution of networking and the role of APIs, discussing their importance in the modern world. It highlights how scraping APIs has become a method for data breaches and emphasizes the challenges of network visibility and API security. The podcast also delves into Akamai's success in protecting applications during large DDoS attacks and their expansion into other verticals.

Learn how to protect your identity online and the increasing threat of online crime. Understand the importance of identity protection for individuals and organizations. Explore the role of Aura and its innovative approach to digital safety. Discover the advancements in AI technologies for call protection and intelligent safety features.