GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts GovCIO Media & Research

Following its “Secure by Design” initiative and pledge, America’s cyber defense agency, CISA, is supporting the movement for software manufacturers to build security into their products at the start. The movement is part of a White House priority to shift responsibility for cybersecurity away from end users and toward manufacturers.
CISA Senior Technical Advisor Jack Cable and Senior Policy Advisor Lauren Zabierek examine the impact the strategy and pledge will have on federal and industry leaders in the pursuit of creating a more secure world.
Featured audio: https://youtu.be/R6RW-DemWbQ?si=_zLigtIZ-OZGd46a

The Forest Service’s mission as lead federal agency in natural resource conservation includes oversight of 193 million acres of public lands and 600 million acres of forests across the U.S.
A big mission for the service is wildfire management, which requires modern technology to monitor millions of acres and share information between the departments of Agriculture and Interior and also the public.
The 100-year-old agency is transforming its technology and data operations to make more data available by closing tech gaps, removing legacy systems and improving interoperability for even the most remote and rural environments. Assistant CDO for the Natural Resources and Environment Mission Ramona Carey discusses the data landscape, where emerging technology fits in to her priorities and how data modernization is underpinning critical conversation efforts.

The National Cancer Institute’s partnership with St. Jude is helping researchers to better understand how cancer accelerates the aging process of survivors who were diagnosed as children. The team is also developing therapies that can decrease risks of frailty and dying at an early age.
NCI’s Jennifer Guida and St. Jude’s Kirsten Ness say the Behavioral Research Program as well as the Human Performance Laboratory have been instrumental in helping determine which survivors are more likely to experience physical and cognitive decline. These programs have also assisted researchers with identifying interventions that can possibly prevent premature death and other complications caused by cancer and cancer treatments.
Guida and Ness discuss how technology like artificial intelligence is playing a critical role in improving care for childhood cancer especially in conducting screenings, tracking a person's risk for heart failure as well as creating a patient's survivorship plan.

NIST’s new Cybersecurity Framework published earlier this year gives organizations a new set of harmonized cybersecurity guidelines and best practices. It’s the first major update in 10 years and broadens its scope beyond critical infrastructure entities.
Cherilyn Pascoe, director of NIST’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, had a large role in developing the new framework. She said the plan emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity in an evolving technological environment and discusses how others can tailor it to their organizations across missions.
Pascoe also highlights a growing focus in broader cybersecurity priorities around post-quantum cryptography and AI, and explains how NIST’s Center of Excellence is developing additional guidance for the community.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) aims to recruit a more diverse pool of candidates to work in public health care.
ONC Deputy National Coordinator for Operations and Chief Operating Officer Lisa Lewis Person helped create the Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility Council back in 2020. An employee-led committee, the council develops policies and programs that ensure all Americans are represented in ONC's workforce.
Person also sponsors the Public Health Informatics and Technology (PHIT) Workforce Program, which gives minority serving institutions the ability to provide certifications as well as degrees in public health. She discusses why diversity in health care matters and how it impacts health IT.

The U.S. Postal Service is in the middle of a three-year modernization plan to update its massive infrastructure, data centers and expansive telecom network. The service wants to prioritize technology innovation and leverage partnerships to transform its operations and business model for evolving mail and deliver services, relying on no taxpayer dollars to do so.
CIO Pritha Mehra is focused on maintaining a highly resilient telecom network, securing data transfer and embracing new technology.
Mehra shares how the agency is using emerging technology like generative AI in its operations, the service’s plan for integrating zero trust architecture amid new policy directives, and also how the service is evolving upskilling and recruiting initiatives to attract and retain its workforce.