CISA Announces New Office to Support Federal Agencies’ Zero Trust Endeavors

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched the Zero Trust Initiative Office, which will help federal agencies implement zero trust security principles.

Speaking Thursday at CyberScoop’s Zero Trust Summit, Sean Connelly, senior cybersecurity architect and trusted internet connection program manager at CISA, shared that the office will provide comprehensive training materials and resources to help agencies advance with their zero trust endeavors. The office will also identify the necessary skills and knowledge for zero trust implementation.

Other focus areas for the new organization are community building and collaboration and zero trust maturity assessment. The Zero Trust Initiative Office will use existing CISA resources like the Zero Trust Maturity Model and TIC 3.0, FedScoop reported Thursday.

Other agencies are also making strides in their zero trust endeavors.

In January, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced that it started using zero trust principles to address cybersecurity concerns and allow federal agencies to use authentication at different points between networks. Elena Peterson, a senior cybersecurity researcher at PNNL, shared that the laboratory will continue working on new solutions as technologies get more complex.

In November 2023, Justin Fanelli, the Department of the Navy’s acting chief technology officer and a past Potomac Officers Club speaker, said DON met minimum zero trust targets set by the Department of Defense ahead of the deadline.