Ransomware attacks against federal IT systems surged to unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and show no sign of abating, with ransomware losses surpassing $1 billion in the second half of 2021. Federal agencies handling mission-sensitive medical, financial, demographic and homeland security-focused data within legacy IT systems are especially vulnerable to ransomware attacks. Hear from federal cyber leaders at the DOD and CyberArk about the best tips, tricks and strategies for resisting ransomware and protecting federal data.

President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposed an additional $200 million to support the Technology Modernization Fund, a federal technology program aimed to modernize digital services and improve customer experience by identifying opportunities to leverage technology across federal agencies. Leaders behind the program discuss the key investments and strategies that are improving the digital customer experience for the federal workforce and public alike. This includes developing new enterprise systems and policies, digital services using human-centered design, and creating portals that ensure easy and seamless access to data.

Federal agencies investing in cloud are seeing efficient and modernized tech developments that improve the user experience. These developments include digital services and initiatives grounded in user-centered design and data management. Key to these tools is a solid hybrid cloud architecture to support more portable workloads, automation and speed for software development and research teams while also keeping security top of mind.

As the Defense Department ramps up AI development within its new Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO), defense AI leaders aim to limit biases, maintain ethical standards and develop algorithms responsibly. These leaders discuss the key principles to eradicate bias in defense data sets and data processes while maintaining warfighter trust and assurance to get ready for AI.

Even when organizations check all their security boxes and prioritize cybersecurity training, multi-factor authentication and data backups, breaches still happen. As federal agencies increasingly adopt hybrid cloud solutions that merge software-defined network access with on-prem IT infrastructure, cyber risks unique to this approach threaten to undo the strongest cyber defenses.

As government tackles the effects of climate change, the Department of Energy has made climate resilience and adaptation a key priority. The Argonne National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are two facilities working to offer climate modeling that enables more data-driven decisions. Through an applied research model, the labs are mapping decarbonization pathways and risk mitigation, with a focus on climate justice and critical infrastructure. Data leaders discuss how they’re unlocking critical data-sharing efforts, spurred by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The National Nuclear Security Association (NNSA) has deployed cloud-based technology on its unclassified systems, and the agency is eyeing classified cloud for its sensitive data. NNSA CIO James Wolff and ID Technologies’ Bryan Courtright dive into strategies for integrating security and modernization that meets mission needs.

Strong data management practices can help federal agencies address inequities in the services they provide to the general public. The White House's 2021 Executive Order No. 13985 instructs agencies to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities, so tune in to this GovFocus panel to hear how federal IT leaders are exploring new data strategies, policies and procedures to improve customer experience for all.

Implementing a zero trust architecture is more than just deploying new tools and processes — it also requires a mindset shift. But transforming outdated cyber cultural norms to get ready for zero trust is no small feat.

People and processes are the keys to driving successful digital transformation. FDIC’s Business Intelligence Services Chief Bryan Lane and Maximus’s Gabrielle Rivera discuss strategies for data governance and how to build an empowered workforce.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is accelerating its cybersecurity approach, adopting new architectures like zero trust to better secure veteran data. VA's CISO Lynette Sherrill and National Alliances Leader of Data Security and Management at Rubrik Federal Sterling Wilson sit down to discuss how they’re preparing and advancing security frameworks to protect sensitive data, like Personal Identifiable Information (PII) and veteran health data, as the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) can help federal agencies securely connect disparate data systems and communicate with other offices and components, which will be critical for the Defense Department's Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (JADC2) plan.

FEMA CISO Gregory Edwards and Exterro’s Justin Tolman discuss the importance of partnerships between government and industry when it comes to developing best practices for cyber incident reporting.

Amid a widespread push to enhance the customer experience in government, agencies are improving several facets in technology strategies to get there. At the IRS, the customer experience encompasses both the internal workforce and taxpayers.

In the age of cloud modernization, federal agencies are envisioning new strategies for data centers. At NIH, the BioData Catalyst was envisioned to never use existing NIH data centers, opening up new opportunities for collaborative data sharing for innovative approaches to health. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun to leverage 5G to support many of its teleservices, like telehealth, which has seen substantial growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with industry, VA is leading the way in groundbreaking solutions for Veterans. VA Director of Network Engineering Dan Mesimer and T-Mobile for Government Vice President David Bezzant join us to discuss the growth and adoption of 5G, which provides more network capacity and decreased lag time, ultimately enabling organizations to share more information faster.

Digitalization is rising as a promising avenue to accelerate business processes, automate data intake, improve analysis and overall help end users streamline their work. IRS Enterprise Digitalization & Case Management Senior Advisor Mitch Winans and NetDocuments Vice President of Product Jill Schornack share how digitalization efforts they’re taking are making a difference for their customer communities.

Misconceptions and over-simplified language dominate the zero trust conversation, which can be so demanding for organizations looking for the right starting point. Rob Wood, CISO of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Jim Richberg, Public Sector Field CISO for Fortinet Federal, explore how zero trust is an "insider risk program" and how to customize it so that it's both transparent and accessible to end-users.

Federal agencies are faced with evolving cybersecurity priorities around new executive orders and other efforts to keep data and systems secure amid high-profile breaches. BESPIN Software Factory CTO James “Guideaux” Crocker and Dynatrace Federal CTO Willie Hicks discuss the path to zero trust, the barriers to implementing some of these efforts in the federal space as well as some approaches to these challenges, including ICAM solutions and SBOMs.

Agencies are accelerating the transition from paper-based to fully electronic processes to align with upcoming federal requirements, reduce manual workloads and improve user experience. As part of President Biden’s recent customer experience executive order, agencies are tasked with improving the digital experience by modernizing web applications.

AFWERX Spark Cell Director Garrett Custons and Dcode Senior Program Manager Riya Patel discuss the cultural foundations that go into technology modernization. AFWERX is nestled under the Air Force Research Lab and works to transition agile, affordable and accelerated capabilities and technologies through a teaming approach.

Acting Health and Human Services' Program Support Center Chief Financial Officer Mike Peckham joined OneStream Software Vice President Michael Germaine to discuss how agencies are grappling with how to make financial reporting better. The two explained how the financial management modernization landscape is changing and some best practices to navigate it.

Navy Principal Cyber Advisor Chris Cleary and DLT Chief Cyber Security Technologist Don Maclean joined GovCIO Media & Research Senior Staff Writer Kate Macri to discuss the White House Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity and some of the common pitfalls federal agencies might encounter when deploying zero trust.

FDA Acting CTO Sohail Chaudhry joined Automation Anywhere Senior Federal Account Executive Ryan Patrick to discuss how the FDA is leveraging automation, including RPA and machine learning-as-a-service, to improve case management, data modeling, digitization and more.

Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director of Demand Management Drew Myklegard joined Software AG Government Solution CTO Chris Broneman to discuss how oftware-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions are becoming more popular at the same time agencies are increasingly migrating operations to the cloud and look to move their computing off-prem.