Historically, industry is more forward-leaning than government when it comes to innovation — at least at the unclassified level. But unlike most industries, the US government is driving the cybersecurity market and has been for almost the last decade.

Federal fingerprints are everywhere: Where did cybercompliance start? Where did the first frameworks for cyber operations originate? Who are the most employed cyber operations personnel? In each of these instances and many others, government or government-related leaders and organization are the answer.

You heard it from me first: Government has led the way on cybersecurity, and that’s a good thing for everyone. Meanwhile, the industry around cyber and cyber ops has been basically churning out better technological solutions and optimizing frameworks working within the bright lines defined by the past decade’s cyber mindset.

This year is different. Zero Trust and Zero Trust eXtended (ZTX) came out swinging in January, and the industry has been changed ever since. The majority of vendors, whether working with the government or not in the cyber space, have at least some knowledge of Zero Trust; most have marketing and projects around the strategy; and almost everyone is either talking about Zero Trust or is actively engaged in some form of Zero Trust conversation (even the analyst firm that starts with a ‘G’ had a Zero Trust event at its forum, so yeah).

Zero Trust works in government systems and networks. I have personally done advisories and workshops recently with a handful of government agencies struggling with the same issues: There is no overarching strategy, ownership is hard to determine, simple things are needed to fix the issues with security due to budget, and the government perimeter is constantly under attack. Combine those issues with a mobile workforce, a lack of available talent, and the need for data security above all else, and you have a perfect storm of exactly what Zero Trust was created for.
Since 2012, Forrester’s cyber ops team has been preaching the gospel of how Zero Trust is focused on data, aimed at strategy, aligned with internal controls, negates the issues around perimeter defenses, and requires a focus on segmentation and focused ownership of the infrastructure. Combine all that past thought leadership with ZTX and the research and initiatives around NGA (next-generation access) and how this all plays into Zero Trust writ large, and things suddenly become very real for any agency or infrastructure that needs to move into a new schema and strategy for security.

Come spend some time with us at two of our upcoming events on Zero Trust in D.C. to discuss how this effective strategy can be applied to your environment.  Please note: these events are for government agency security leaders.

Through keynotes, case studies, architecture breakdowns, and peer interactions, you will learn how Zero Trust is changing the game in the security industry. We will detail how companies and users are leveraging emerging technologies and digital ecosystems to revolutionize their Zero Trust networks and infrastructures. In particular, you will learn how to:

  • Engage with emerging technology vendors to enable Zero Trust across your enterprise.
  • Deploy Zero Trust tools and systems to enable your organization to achieve comprehensive security changes.
  • Build a culture within your organization to break the typical barriers toward a Zero Trust transformation.

Make sure to register today to secure a spot at our two-part event series.

The first of the two-part event series is complimentary: the Zero Trust Cybersecurity for Government event on Wednesday, September 12 at 9:00–11:30 a.m. ET, taking place at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Washington, D.C.

If you’d also like to join us for part two, make sure to register to our Privacy & Security 2018 Forum on September 25–26 at the Mayflower Hotel, where we’ll host an exclusive deeper-dive session on Zero Trust. Use discount code PS18WEB to save $200.

Looking forward to seeing you there!