The Daily Scoop Podcast

Since 2016, the Department of Defense and other national security agencies have partnered with the Hacking 4 Defense program allowing students at universities across the U.S. and the globe to address critical problems facing the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. Launched as a pilot out of Stanford, the program has expanded to more than 63 universities and enlisted more than 3,000 students for the course. And more recently, participating universities have partnered with our allies and universities in the U.K. and Australia to work on common problems. This week, the latest Hacking 4 Defense cohort is beginning, and it’s the largest ever, with 37 universities teaching 39 H4 courses, supporting 120 student teams with over 500 students between the U.S. and U.K. Joining the podcast to discuss the evolution of Hacking 4 Defense and what to expect from the latest cohort is Pete Newell, co-founder and CEO of BMNT, the defense innovation firm that runs the Hacking 4 Defense program.

The FedScoop news team is growing … sort of. We recently promoted our editorial fellow Caroline Nihill to a permanent member of the reporting team. You’ve likely seen Caroline’s work since joining the team last summer, covering developments in AI, shift in the Technology Modernization Fund and opening FedScoop’s aperture wider on Capitol Hill. But now that she’s a full-time member of the team, we wanted to invite her on so DailyScoop listeners and readers of FedScoop.com could get to know her better. Caroline Joins the podcast to discuss how she came to be a reporter with FedScoop, what she’s most passionate about covering at the intersection of the federal government and technology, and what you can come to expect from her coverage going forward.

Bill Eggers, Executive director of Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights, discusses Deloitte's latest report on the top trends transforming government in 2024. The podcast explores radical transformation in government operations, the importance of data, cloud, automation, AI, and digital twins in reshaping government services, and the focus on outcomes rather than just technology. It also covers key trends like data-fueled government, digital transformation, and human-centered experiences for enhancing user experience and efficiency in government services.

The Air Force Research Lab last March established its Digital Capabilities Directorate to speed up its modernization pursuits and enable its scientists and engineers to explore and more efficiently collaborate via a growing suite of emerging technologies. The directorate fuses together former AFRL’s elements, like its Research Collaboration and Computing Directorate, as well as the lab’s former Business Process Reengineering Division and others. It also has roots that trace back to a temporary digital “war room” that was stood up to help drive innovation. Alexis Bonnell is Air Force Research Lab CIO and director of the Digital Capabilities Directorate, appointed to those roles last July. She joins the podcast to discuss her journey to the role, her priorities nearly a year in and how things are shifting as AI becomes an increasingly important part of AFRL’s enterprise IT.

Federal CIO Clare Martorana and Director of Digital Experience Jonathan Finch discuss the new guidance on digital accessibility for federal agencies, emphasizing equal access for individuals with disabilities. They also explore the role of AI in improving citizens' experiences with the federal government and the importance of collaboration and responsible AI use in government agencies.

The Transportation Security Administration recently announced the launch of its IT Lift Cell Innovation Lab, a space through which TSA’s network of innovative thinkers can put their ideas to work. The lab is meant to be a “Apple Genius Bar meets TSA IT,” according to the agency, and a place where the department’s IT office can host workshops, open hours and meetings for employee brainstorming sessions. TSA CIO Yemi Oshinnaiye joins the Daily Scoop Podcast to discuss the new lab, the concept behind Lift Cells and his top priorities now two years into his role leading the agency’s IT portfolio.

Exploring the evolution of zero trust architecture in the public sector, including mandates from the Biden administration. Discussing the importance of securing data at all levels of government, with insights from former OMB Cyber Team chief. Analyzing state and federal approaches to zero trust adoption, highlighting challenges and success stories. Addressing the need for increased funding for cybersecurity initiatives and streamlined technology acquisition processes in government agencies.

Federal agencies, as well as other entities across the private sector, are at a major disadvantage when it comes to protecting their sensitive information and systems from bad actors. Hackers are getting more sophisticated, and cyberattacks are increasing in quantity and severity. And, the vast majority of the time, humans are the weakest link in cyberattack vectors. A new program out of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to turn that notion on its head, shifting the asymmetric nature of cyber defense to benefit defenders by building cyberpsychology-informed defenses and influencing and manipulating a cyberattacker’s decision-making throughout an attack. Dr. Kimberly Ferguson-Walter leads ReSCIND — the project which stands for Reimagining Security with Cyberpsychology-Informed Network Defenses — and she joins me now to discuss the idea behind the project, the field of cyberpsychology and the end goal of the novel initiative.

For nearly a year now, the adoption of artificial intelligence has been all the rage in the government space. But still, as you’ve seen in FedScoop’s reporting, there has been hesitation by some agencies to fully embrace the emerging technology because of unknown risks and fear of issues with safety, security and privacy. Meagan Metzger, the founder and CEO of Dcode, joins me now to discuss the status of AI adoption across the federal government, how people are key to it adoption and how things are progressing for agencies and commercial firms that don’t see eye to eye on sharing what’s going on inside an AI algorithm. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

The podcast discusses the challenges of implementing zero trust security in national security systems, the use of AI for predictive insights, agile methods for ATO processes, and optimizing cybersecurity in software development. It highlights the importance of consistent security measures and the need for structured teams in enhancing real-time security strategies.