Federal Tech Podcast: for innovators, entrepreneurs, and CEOs who want to increase reach and improve brand awareness

The word "deplorable" signals something shockingly bad. Often used for the truly awful or dreadful, Todd Harbour, with decades of federal data experience, applies it specifically to data quality. That may be an overstatement, but the description certainly makes the point that today AI is based on fragmented, incomplete data sets. The bright, shiny thing called AI is so much in focus that federal l...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com When people look back on 2025 they will see many changes in the FedRAMP process.   It looks like a new administration examined the process, got feedback from companies, and launched new initiatives to speed up the process. During today's interview, Irina Deni...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com Way back in 2011, one of the goals of FedRAMP was to eliminate software redundancy. The federal government had evolved to the point where one agency would spend millions of dollars on the same application program that the agency in the same zip code had just...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field, where every effective defense technique is quickly noticed and adapted to by malicious actors. The real question is how fast each side of this ongoing cat-and-mouse game can respond. Let us take an example of web app...

Twenty years ago, the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) entered the federal IT landscape with the advent of network-connected devices like Blackberries—sometimes even within secure federal networks. This slow start has exploded into a federal information technology system with sensors on satellites, submarines, and everywhere in between. That "in between" can include on-prem networks, multip...

We began the interview with a startling fact. Maximus' federal systems interface with one in three Americans each year—about 110 million people. Building on Maximus's broad reach, Pledger says the company's core is designing world‑class digital experiences by starting with the end goal (e.g., veterans' benefits) and using automation, AI, analytics, and omni‑channel outreach. We have all heard abou...

Everyone reading this has had minor delays at the airport. It is remarkable that more problems have not developed. Look at Chicago O'Hare International Airport—it has 857,392 takeoffs and landings in a year. Each one has passengers, and most have luggage. The opportunities for problems are overwhelming. Now add an increasing number of sensors and interlaced networks, and you have an attack surface...

Technology is changing so fast that it is impossible to predict the next twelve days. Despite that, we have asked Travis Rosiek, Public Sector CTO at Rubrik, to gaze into his crystal ball and make some predictions for the next twelve months. The good news is that Rosiek sees a shift from intellectual property theft to disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure. The bad news is that Rosiek think...

It is always tricky to compare commercial networking challenges with those faced by federal leaders. For example, the military and intelligence agencies require traffic encryption. How can an organization detect threats while observing this traffic? Today, we discuss Vectra AI's network threat detection capabilities with Wes Nagel, DoD sales manager, and Gage Cowger, a security engineer. With tech...

One of the biggest trends in software development over the past 10 years is the shift from writing code to "assembling" code from off-the-shelf components. During today's interview with Javed Hasan from Lineaje, we learned that 70% of that pre-assembled code is open source. In other words, an anonymous person in some countries modified software instructions. This casual approach may be fine for sm...

In the past 10 years, Amazon Web Services has gone from a niche player in the federal government to being responsible for billions in sales. One key aspect of this is how Amazon integrates leadership with innovation to address complex federal requirements. Today, we sit down with Andrew Christian to get an overview of concepts like customer obsession, working backwards, and the sixteen leadership...

One famous cartoon featured two vultures sitting on a fence; one turned to the other and said, "I am sick of waiting, let's kill something." When it comes to preventing cyberattacks, the federal government is well known for a defensive approach. They have security systems, air gap systems, and even a zero-trust approach. This defensive approach is essential but may not give the federal government...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com Today, we have an experienced tech veteran, Bob Stevens from GitLab, offering insights on how he sees the federal government overcoming three main technology challenges in 2026. Challenge ONE:   Software improvement on scale. Stevens observed that everyone ha...

(We recorded this interview at Monk's BBQ in lovely downtown Purcellville, VA) Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com Defrauding the federal government is like the weather; everyone wants to complain, but nobody can do anything about it. For example, a joint DOL-SBA report from December 2024 revea...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com When cloud computing was introduced, it was quite a simple concept: leverage other people's hardware to scale easily. Not too much to manage. However, today's cloud world has metastasized. Today, federal leaders live in a world of on-prem, multiple clouds, pr...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com We are at the point where AI is almost expected in any technology offering. Today, we sat down with John Kindervag from Illumio to learn how AI can be applied to the world of federal Zero Trust. Some have characterized today's current cybersecurity situation...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com It is rare to see AI applied to federal cybersecurity mandates. However, today, we will sit down with Louis Echenbaum from Color Tokens. He will unpack the concept of using AI to help federal leaders improve their ability to implement microsegmentation. We al...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com In the world of federal technology we are being deluged with so much information about Artificial Intelligence that we may not see what some of other technologies that may have as great an impact as AI.   The White House, the OMB (M-23-02), the Office of the...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com John Kindervag began the concept of Zero Trust; he probably did not realize the impact it would have on the technological community. Today, we look at the federal government and Zero Trust implementation from 40,000 feet. Kindervag will opine on topics such a...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com A quick review of malicious activity shows large-scale cyberattacks being run without any human intervention. That means traditional penetration testing, which occurs once a year, can be easily defeated by massive, systematic attacks. During the interview wit...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com The good news is that federal security measures are preventing successful attacks; the bad news is that adversaries are examining every nook and cranny of a federal system and increasingly targeting the browser itself as an attack vector. During the interview...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com Every federal agency prepares a backup strategy to protect data. This is a rigorous endeavor in which teams practice what to do in the event of a breach or system failure. However, nobody really has a plan for a temporary federal shutdown. Any political pundi...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com In a recent report from Microsoft, they share that foreign adversaries are increasing attacks on American infrastructure. One variation is that they will not penetrate systems and attack, but they will steal credentials and install code to act in stealth mode...

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com The federal government recognizes that threats are multiplying at an exponential level. In fact, in October 2025, CISA released a free vulnerability scanner, and 10,000 organizations have signed up. Today, CISA is at its current capacity. Today, we examine so...

Ep. 281 How Zero Trust Automation Helps Federal Agencies do More with Less Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www. Federaltechpodcast.com As this interview was recorded, the federal government was in the middle of a shutdown. Hundreds of pundits have given interviews about the politics of the situation; very few have loo...