COMMENTARY

The federal government is often slow moving when it comes to various technology modernization efforts (thanks to the obstacles posed by resourcing, staffing, and politics), so it’s no surprise that a lack of cybersecurity awareness and action has caused federal infrastructure to reach new levels of criticality.

Year after year, we see data breaches become more commonplace, with ransomware plaguing organizations and agencies of all sizes, while foreign adversaries continue to work their way into our networks and most high-value infrastructure. There’s a good reason why trust has been eroded, and vulnerability assessment — not only presents the opportunity to help the federal government achieve resilience, solidifying infrastructure and streamlining operations in the process, but also frees up critical talent to reach new goals and mission-critical resilience objectives as they evolve.

For the first time in a long while, the federal government and the software sector alike finally have the tools and resources needed to do security well — consistently and cost-effectively. Though like anything else in technology, not all of AI is created equal, and thoughtful adoption in addition to rigorous coding, testing, and transparent disclosure practices will be essential to ensure that we as a community and as a software supply chain continue to implement, grow, and refine accordingly.

Even if this executive order gets overturned, mandates like these serve as a helpful reminder of all that is important — and possible — to prioritize and achieve in this new AI era. While utilizing AI won’t be without its challenges, and no development program will ever be perfect, AI offers organizations a unique opportunity to strive for more, strengthen development and compliance practices, and grow, while upskilling the next crop of cybersecurity talent to more proactively get ahead of the next generation of threats.