Cyber Defense eMagazine February Edition for 2023

Zero Trust: Recently, the federal government has started waking up to the prevalence and necessity of
adopting an “assume breach” mentality (the philosophy that even with the best perimeter and detection
and response technologies, breaches will still find a way into our networks) – which will result in a seismic
shift in how agencies defend their operations in 2023. We can expect to see an increased focus on
implementing more modern containment strategies vs. solely relying on traditional prevention
approaches.
In addition, the federal government has focused more on accelerating and mandating Zero Trust adoption
in the past year – yet agencies are overwhelmed by the sheer volume and complexity of the recent
mandates, directives, and goals that they need to comply with. Moving into 2023, agencies should
evaluate the progress they’ve made on the different pillars of Zero Trust and dedicate their limited
resources to making progress on all pillars versus getting stuck trying to find a perfect solution for each
individual one.
Agencies need to avoid paralysis by analysis. The reality is, no plan is 100 percent perfect – what matters
is making progress. Even incremental, small steps toward implementing Zero Trust plans will contribute
to building resilience to cyberattacks.
Ransomware: With the rise of ransomware-as-a-service, the barrier to entry for attackers is low. We can
expect to see smaller-scale bad actors, who wouldn’t normally have the resources to launch cyberattacks
against the U.S. federal government, tapping into these services in 2023. That’s why it’s all the more
important to support agencies with the information and resources they need to build resilience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): As AI continues to become more mainstream, we are going to see the
technology that is used to enhance efficiency and improve operations also enhance the way bad actors
attack organizations. For example, bad actors can tap AI to develop better quality deep fakes, improve
phishing attacks, and augment existing tactics to better evade detection. As AI gets smarter, agencies
must be prepared for attackers to keep pace.
CISA Priorities: CISA’s focus on improving cybersecurity for critical infrastructure sectors, K-12 schools,
and the healthcare sector is an important step in the right direction. However, these sectors have outdated
and antiquated IT infrastructure and are largely underfunded and under-resourced. Over the next year,
the focus should be on improving the basics (like implementing widespread two-factor authentication and
Zero Trust Segmentation, for example).
And while CISA continues to provide much needed guidance, critical infrastructure and other high-risk
sectors need tangible help (technology tools, software, etc.) to implement solutions that reduce their risk
from inevitable breaches.
Cyber Skills Gap: The need for a skilled cybersecurity workforce remains top of mind for agencies and
industry leaders. As the skills gap persists, federal leaders should seek to enhance collaboration between
agencies to maximize talent. Many agencies – especially smaller ones – simply don’t have the bandwidth,
resources, and expertise to address today’s evolving cyber concerns. Agencies need to get creative to
address some of these challenges. We must use our cyber workforce judiciously.
Moving into 2023, agency leaders must continue to prioritize cyber progress and improvement, with an
emphasis on building cyber resilience from the inside out. It’s clear that maintaining the status quo means
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