The New Era of Public Sector Cyber Defense: Defending at Machine Speed
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Tune in Tuesday, October 27 at 2:00 PM ET
Advanced artificial intelligence capabilities have fundamentally compressed the time between vulnerability disclosure and active weaponization. Adversaries can now automate exploitation techniques to immediate and wide effect, turning newly discovered security flaws into active threats in hours rather than weeks. Recognizing that uniform, compliance-based approaches to patching can no longer scale to meet this reality, new directives and executive orders, including CISA’s Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, OMB M-26-14, and EO 14409, refocus federal efforts on the immediate prioritization of cyber defense against AI-driven risks.
To meet the challenges of this shifting AI-threat landscape, public sector organizations must move toward a unified view of enterprise risk. This requires connecting previously siloed tools covering cloud infrastructure, connected on-premises servers, and external attack surfaces into a single operational plane.
This session explores how to:
- Leverage a unified Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) approach to solve the complex hybrid exposure problem across legacy and modern environments.
- Integrate telemetry from existing vulnerability scanners and on-premises systems into Wiz’s Unified Vulnerability Management (UVM), translating disconnected point-solution data into centralized architectural context.
- Utilize Attack Surface Management (ASM) network path analysis to verify actual internet reachability, allowing agencies to safely implement isolating controls and extend mandatory compliance windows.
- Deploy full-stack workload visibility and identity analytics to automate remediation timeline assessments, map blast radius, track lateral movement, identify true asset ownership, and accelerate targeted forensic investigations.
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Speakers
Jonathan McBride
Chief of Persistent Hunt
CISA
Jonathan McBride
Chief of Persistent Hunt
CISA
Jonathan McBride ~ Chief of Persistent Hunt within CISA’s Threat Hunting subdivision, where he leads CISA’s federal persistent and proactive hunt missions and services, driving innovation in service delivery, sensing solutions, detection, and advanced analytics. He previously served as an engagement lead within the Host Forensics Section of CISA’s Threat Hunting Subdivision, leading rapid response personnel on incident response activities supporting the federal government, states, local tribes, territories, and critical infrastructure.
Mr. McBride has reached this point in his career by a non-traditional path. A third-generation US Army veteran where he served the special operations community as a military intelligence specialist. Completing multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, and Africa focused on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Upon leaving the US Army he transitioned into the cybersecurity workforce as a computer network defense (CND) intrusion analyst and quickly excelled. Highlights include CND Operations lead for the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system and senior Fusion Analyst for Defense Information Systems Agency – Europe supporting the Department of Defense’s European and Africa Combatant Commands, Information Assurance Branch Chief for the Executive Office of the President – Office of Administration, and Incident Response Manager for the Federal Communications Commission. He is an avid outdoorsman and dabbles in ultramarathon running.
Manny Medrano
Director, Cybersecurity Monitoring and Operations
U.S. Department of State
Manny Medrano
Director, Cybersecurity Monitoring and Operations
U.S. Department of State
Manuel "Manny" Medrano has over 20 years of experience, 13 years with Department of State. He has contributed to many technology modernization efforts in the Secretary of State’s office. He now leads State’s Office of Cyber Monitoring and Operations. Manny has served in this role since 2022, defending State’s networks and systems against advanced and persistent cyber threats. His duties include overseeing cyber monitoring, incident response, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and designing, engineering, and operating State's cybersecurity defense systems. Previously, as Deputy Division Chief for Cyber Threat Intelligence, Manny was integral to the pursuit of actionable, outcome-based intelligence and partnering with private industry.
Chris Saunders
Director of Public Sector Solution Engineers
Wiz
Chris Saunders
Director of Public Sector Solution Engineers
Wiz