Soon after his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we caught up with Steve Hoffman, who is president at Fortinet Federal, for his take on cybersecurity opportunities and challenges, with the promise of continued zero trust adoption high on the list of plusses, and the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence tech still mostly posing question marks on the near-term horizon. […]

Fresh off his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were thrilled to grab a half hour with Paul Blahusch – who is director of cybersecurity and chief information security officer at the Department of Labor – for a wide-ranging talk about the security opportunities and challenges surrounding artificial intelligence, zero trust security, the coming quantum computing wave, and the importance of collaboration among Federal security leaders.  […]

Following his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were delighted to catch up with Gregory Garrett, who is chief operating officer at government tech provider REI Systems, for his look at the promising future that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can bring to improve cybersecurity, as well as the need to approach AI with a measure of caution for risks the technology can introduce. […]

Shortly after her induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were delighted to grab 20 minutes with Megan Kane, Risk Management Branch Chief at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services component, for a talk about the critical importance of risk management along with the hot-button challenges of supply chain risk management, the advent of AI in security, continuous monitoring, governance improvements, and zero trust implementation. […]

Following her induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were thrilled to catch up with Carolyn Duby – who is the Federal chief technology officer and cybersecurity GTM lead at Cloudera – for an in-depth talk about harnessing data for cybersecurity analytics, the enduring value of the Federal government’s migration to zero trust security, how to proceed safely with artificial intelligence technologies, and the urgency of getting ready for quantum computing. […]

Fresh off his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were delighted to sit down for a half hour with Gary Barlet – who is public sector chief technology officer at Illumio – for a wide ranging talk about government cybersecurity needs, the criticality of the current zero trust security transition, and the multiple facets of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the hands of both adversaries and network defenders. […]

Following his recent induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were happy to grab a few minutes with David Link, the founder and CEO of Reston, Va.-based ScienceLogic, for a conversation about the importance of data observability and protection in cybersecurity as the IT landscape continues to grow ever-more complicated. […]

Marking another revealing chapter in our 2024 Cyber Defenders interview series, we spoke with Philip George, executive technical strategist at Merlin Cyber, for his views on both the encouraging trends – and the challenging ones – on the cybersecurity horizon. Read on as Philip takes us through the importance of tech advancements at the data level, and the security complexities that are flowing from growth in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. […]

Joyce Hunter, executive director for collaboration and education at Mission-Critical – and one of the recently announced 2024 class of Cyber Defenders – gave us a few minutes of her time to discuss the vital role of education and collaboration in bolstering the cybersecurity workforce. Both of those aims, she said, help to boost awareness not only of opportunities for people to join the cyber workforce, but also the vital role that critical infrastructure plays in today’s world. […]

Fresh off his induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we spoke with Nat Bongiovanni, who is chief technology officer at NTT DATA Federal Services, for a forward look at both challenges and encouraging trends in cybersecurity, with the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence (AI) taking a prominent view in his outlook. […]

Top cybersecurity professionals from across the Federal government and industry gathered on Thursday evening at Morton’s in Washington, D.C., to honor the 2024 Cyber Defenders Award winners. […]

Break out your beach party gear for the coolest bash of the summer at MeriTalk Tech Tonic on July 18 at Morton’s The Steakhouse in D.C. Join us from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. where we will beat the heat and celebrate the cutting-edge security pros who are taking home this year’s Cyber Defenders awards. […]

Everyone already knows the vital role that cybersecurity plays in protecting the government and private sector functions that make up the essential fabric of American life – but few know enough about the dedicated women and men who are protecting us all on the front lines of technology. […]

Who are your favorite Cyber Defenders – the security leaders both in the Federal government and tech industry who are going above and beyond in advancing the mission, leading cybersecurity modernization, and defending against threats? […]

Some of the top cybersecurity professionals from across the Federal government and the private sector gathered Thursday evening at Morton’s in Washington, D.C., to honor the 2023 class of Cyber Defender award winners. […]

With mounting cybersecurity concerns as the driving factor for both the Federal government’s ongoing migration to zero trust architectures – and the quickening pace of broader IT modernization … […]

The never-ending battle against cyber adversaries – and the Federal government’s aim for a quantum leap in improving cyber defenses around zero trust security concepts – has made cybersecurity the white-hot priority for both the public and private sector over the past 12 months. […]