Ria Aiken

Sat down with Brandon Wales, hot off his role as the Executive Director of CISA, on this week’s episode of Cyber Focus. An original "plank holder" of CISA (and numerous executive leadership positions at the agency), Brandon shares his one-of-a-kind insight and experience on the evolution of the cyber threat landscape, lessons learned from significant incidents like SolarWinds and Volt Typhoon, and the significance of public-private collaboration in building cybersecurity resilience. He also weighs in on whether CISA should or should not remain within DHS; what's in the cyber playbooks of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea; the implications of state sponsored/supported cyber proxies; and any takeaways Taiwan can glean from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Tune in below!   https://lnkd.in/did7fwMv

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Throughout my career in #governance, #risk and #compliance, I've often had to defend why documentation is important and sometimes not just a housekeeping issue. The recent #alaskaairlines incident involving #boeing underscores this point vividly. Key themes: 1. Lack of Documentation & Communication: Imagine removing a door plug to fix rivets and then forgetting to tell anyone because everyone assumed someone else would do the paperwork. The result? A mid-air scare with a blown-out door plug. Documentation is not a mundane task; it's a crucial safety net! 2. Inadequate Quality Control: Missing bolts slipped through multiple inspection stages. Quality check is like a good detective control – it should miss (mostly) nothing! 3. Poor Incident Response: Boeing’s "lack of paperwork" excuse is a classic underplay. In GRC, #transparency and #accountability aren't optional; they're essential. This incident is a vivid reminder of why we need to champion robust internal controls, clear documentation, and stringent quality checks. Oversight and compliance aren't just bureaucratic hurdles; they're the backbone of safety. So next time someone says, "It's just paperwork", tell them this story. #documentation could save your company or lives - quite literally sometimes!

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Great article from a close friend of mine on the challenges of transitioning from public sector security to industry and the mindset needed to make the switch a successful one.

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Listen to what Maximus is saying about digital transformation in our Federal space! #DigitalTransformation

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This June, the DoD is preparing to release Fulcrum, its new digital modernization strategy aimed at expediting innovation efforts for Joint Force capabilities and IT governance. To ensure our troops have the best resources available for joint missions and real-time decision making, it’s important that we continue removing barriers to modernization and enhancing digital interactions. Looking forward to learning more about this strategy next month. Check out more on Fulcrum here: https://lnkd.in/eDN4NNfW #DOD #DigtalExperience #ITModernization

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SAIC's CloudScend™ empowers agencies to accelerate #CloudMigration by securely migrating workloads faster, maximizing value while minimizing risks. This IDC MarketScape report recognizes this solution, check it out to learn more.

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According to a recent report by Data Theorem, 91% of organizations experienced a software supply chain attack over the last year. Sign up for #UWFCyber's #SupplyChain #Security exercise on June 19th to learn about strategies to mitigate such attacks. The #training is taught by our very own supply chain security expert, Dr. Elizabeth Rasnick, and #FREE for Florida public sector personnel.

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Learn more about SAIC CEO Toni Townes-Whitley's insights on the critical intersection of threats and challenges in the tech world. Read more in the article below by MeriTalk

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For those of you are interested in AI Risk Governance Frameworks

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In a new eBook from Federal News Network, #BoozAllen experts Imran Umar and Erica Banks share lessons learned from DOD’s Thunderdome project and how they can be applied to federal civilian agencies as they implement #zerotrust architectures of their own with the help of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program. Other #cybersecurity insights focus on #cloud, #EDR, and OT systems. https://lnkd.in/ejXmamXZ

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Introducing Our 6-Week Journey into the Future of Data and AI in Federal Civil Health, Defense, and Intelligence Missions across the federal government face a central challenge: how to fully take advantage of the entirety of their agency’s (and the world’s) relevant data to achieve clear situational understandings, bolster decision making, and achieve faster, better outcomes. Over the next six weeks, we will be sharing a series of case studies that showcase how #Data Analytics and #AI/ML programs have driven meaningful outcomes across Civil Health, Defense, and Intelligence communities. Today we spotlight an example of how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expanding Data Science Fluency with a commitment to collaboration and innovation by building and maintaining the Enterprise Data Analytics and Visualization Platform (EDAV). https://lnkd.in/dX4-_rSV https://lnkd.in/djQHjW5n

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Yes, anonymized geolocation data can be exploited to track individuals, including government regulators and investigators. Read about how researchers purchased phone location data for the top 26 major metropolitan areas in the United States, narrowed down the dataset to devices that were at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offices between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and were there for 20 hours a month, flagged those devices as SEC-associated devices... …and then tracked those devices as they visited corporate offices around the United States. Even without direct identifiers, patterns in movement can reveal our identities and compromise both our personal #privacy and the mission of our agencies. https://lnkd.in/eu_HpTAP

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Booz Allen Hamilton has launched aiSSEMBLE Baseline™, an open-source iteration of their aiSSEMBLE solution. This technology is set to revolutionize the engineering and deployment of AI systems, making them more efficient, repeatable, and accessible. Key Takeaways: - aiSSEMBLE Baseline is a first-of-its-kind, open-source AI solution built to simplify the development and deployment of AI systems. - The solution leverages Booz Allen's industry-leading AI reference architecture, data delivery, and machine learning patterns. - aiSSEMBLE Baseline maximizes mission impact, minimizes vendor lock-in, and expands ease of use and access to game-changing innovation. Booz Allen offers aiSSEMBLE Baseline free of charge to government, academic, nonprofit, and commercial entities. By making aiSSEMBLE open source, Booz Allen is empowering people to change the world through collective ingenuity. This move will accelerate the impactful delivery of AI at enterprise scale and ensure repeatability for future AI solutions. #AI #OpenSource #Innovation #BoozAllenHamilton #aiSSEMBLE

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“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is out with new guidance to help federal civilian agencies meet website encryption requirements and move closer toward shoring up the security posture of their internal networks. CISA says the guidance released Thursday would help federal agencies set benchmarks for zero trust, a security methodology where users on a network are never inherently trusted and must be regularly verified to allow for access into sensitive systems and pages. The guidance document centers on Domain Name System, or DNS, a networking hierarchy that catalogs organizations’ sites and maps them to usable web addresses. The protocol, in essence, converts everyday website URLs into a query that internet browsers can use to locate and navigate to a webpage.” #zerotrust #dhs #cisa #cybersecurity #trendingnow https://lnkd.in/e4TzCYSQ

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I've witnessed firsthand the evolution of change management practices within the DoD. It's been a humbling and exhilarating experience, filled with hard-earned lessons and unexpected breakthroughs. In my opinion it is almost an art form to succeed in managing change in one of the world's most complex organizations. Here are a couple thought that we keep in mind when we support clients in this space.

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#ModernCEO gets gritty! For this week's newsletter, I spoke with Toni Townes-Whitley, CEO of SAIC about "gritty tech," which describes what SAIC does but also encapsulates the company's agile, get-it-done approach to tech. At a time when leaders need to communicate purpose to employees and prospects, Townes-Whitley offers a case study in how to get your team engaged. Please check out this week's #modernCEO and let us know how you communicate #purpose. https://lnkd.in/eRP2sz93

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