“You won’t find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics,” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said. Agencies in the national security and public safety sectors, such as the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, understand the critical importance of logistics in ensuring that the right personnel and right materials are available t...

Ransomware is one of the biggest cyberthreats facing government at all levels in the U.S. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, there were 90,837 local government entities in 2022. A 2024 study found that ransomware attacks against state or local agencies declined in last year – only about a third of study participants said their agency had been hit by such an attack. While this is far better than 2023, when 69% of particip...

After seeing first-hand the massive effects of supply chain disruption during the pandemic and the impact of accidentally using infected open-source software by software providers, state and local governments are aware of the risks of supply chain disruptions due to a cyber attack. Agencies have to broaden their thinking about where risks may be encountered. For instance, cybersecurity experts see the Salt Typhoon incursion into several U.S. t...

The federal mandate that agencies utilize a Zero Trust architecture to strengthen cybersecurity has been in place for four years, and most federal agencies have made excellent progress toward meeting the deadlines spelled out in the Executive Order. State and local governments are not covered by the federal EO, but many of them are pursuing their own zero trust policies or evaluating how to implement them. After all, having a zero trust archit...

There is a critical conversation to be held on safeguarding U.S. critical infrastructure against persistent and evolving cyber threats. With global adversaries increasingly targeting power grids, communications networks, water systems, and other essential services, the urgency to fortify national cybersecurity has never been greater. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation continue to evolve. Organizations must ret...

Performance-based programs are essential for driving federal government transformation. They directly align resources and incentives with measurable outcomes. Unlike traditional models that emphasize activity over impact, performance-based approaches ensure that agencies are accountable for service delivery of results that matter—such as improved citizen services, operational efficiency, and mission readiness. Learning Objectives: Unders...

According to Gartner, the major digital modernization trends are aimed at addressing three key priorities: managing risk, rethinking value propositions, and streamlining operations. There are specific types of technology that address each of these; for instance, adaptive security – such as a zero-trust architecture – is central to risk management. Those priorities are often reflected in the investments being made by the Technology...

The continuing pace of innovation in IT calls for government to respond in kind – adopting new tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), building in greater security and resilience, modernizing infrastructure to end the constraints of legacy systems. Among the most significant trends is the acute need to implement Zero Trust principles as a bulwark against cyber threats. Just as AI is making it possible to streamline agency workflows a...

There is a critical conversation to be held on safeguarding U.S. critical infrastructure against persistent and evolving cyber threats. With global adversaries increasingly targeting power grids, communications networks, water systems, and other essential services, the urgency to fortify national cybersecurity has never been greater. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation continue to evolve. Organizations must ret...