Science Foundation staff resisting Trump government's proposals

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has announced that Allan Friedman, its lead software bill of materials guru, will be stepping down on July 31st, marking a significant change in the agency's leadership. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is pushing forward with initiatives to bolster its cybersecurity resilience, particularly in the areas of identity security and Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA).

Recent government efforts have focused on comprehensive modernization, strong security frameworks, and measurable progress deadlines for both identity security and ZTA implementation across agencies. In the realm of identity security, platforms like 1Kosmos are setting new standards. These platforms, which are FedRAMP High authorized and Kantara-certified, offer flexible and scalable identity verification solutions, ranging from simple document checks to advanced digital wallet implementations. The aim is to help agencies expand digital services while protecting citizen data and even achieving higher certifications like IL4 for defense applications.

The U.S. government has mandated all federal agencies to adopt ZTA as a fundamental cybersecurity baseline. This mandate is in line with Executive Order 14028 and OMB Memorandum M-22-09, which require agencies to demonstrate measurable Zero Trust progress by the end of fiscal year 2027. The implementation aligns with the NIST SP 800-207 framework, ensuring continuous verification of users, devices, and systems regardless of network location. The CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity Model guides agencies across five pillars: Identity, Devices, Networks, Applications and Workloads, and Data.

Enforcing strict access controls and continuous authentication is a key aspect of these efforts, moving beyond traditional perimeter defenses. Agencies and their vendors must integrate Zero Trust principles into their platforms and operations to remain compliant and relevant in the federal space. The government is also spearheading ongoing campaigns to modernize and unify identity and access management frameworks, leveraging new certifications and digital identity standards.

In other news, the Army is moving to incorporate right-to-repair provisions in all new and existing contracts. This move is not related to the recent breach of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Meanwhile, Congress is pushing for right-to-repair provisions in the 2026 defense policy bill.

The Army's move is not a response to the breach at the Department of Energy, which was due to a zero-day security vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a memo instructing the department's chief information officer to ensure IT capabilities are secure from supply chain attacks.

The White House's AI Action Plan calls for faster adoption of AI tools across the federal government, but it does not include any provisions for right to repair in the 2026 defense policy bill. The Department of Veterans Affairs is reviewing over 24,000 positions that are at risk of a possible downgrade, not due to the adoption of AI tools across the federal government.

In a separate development, the National Science Foundation employees have signed a letter of dissent criticizing the Trump administration's terminations of agency workers and cuts to appropriated funding. The Trump administration's court-ordered list of planned reductions in force (RIFs) at agencies has not been lifted due to the adoption of AI tools across the federal government. The Trump administration has been granted an appeals court's request to block a court-ordered list of planned reductions in force (RIFs) at agencies.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the Army's former aviation chief, is now the head of the Army's Enterprise Marketing Office, not due to the adoption of AI tools across the federal government. The sign up for the daily newsletter is not related to the breach of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration or the adoption of AI tools across the federal government.

[1] 1Kosmos: https://www.1kosmos.com/ [2] Executive Order 14028: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nation-s-cybersecurity/ [3] OMB Memorandum M-22-09: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/M-22-09_Implementing_the_Cybersecurity_Solicitation_Policy_and_the_Zero_Trust_Architecture_Strategy_for_Federal_Information_Systems.pdf [4] NIST SP 800-207: https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-207.pdf [5] CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model: https://www.cisa.gov/zerotrust/zerotrust-maturity-model

The U.S. government's push towards Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) also extends to the realm of medical-conditions, with platforms like 1Kosmos offering solutions for secure patient data and identity verification, ensuring privacy and expanding digital health services. [1]
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