S2E11: Drew Malloy

In this episode of Resilient Cyber, Chris Hughes and Dr. Nikki Robinson speak with Drew Malloy, Technical Director for the Cyber Development Directorate at DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency). Drew shares insights into DISA's approach to cybersecurity modernization, including the adoption of Zero Trust and the launch of the Thunderdome initiative. ⚙️

🔑 Key Highlights:

• Drew’s background and role at DISA, supporting joint and enterprise IT services across the Department of Defense

• The challenges and benefits of adopting Zero Trust architectures across DoD

• Thunderdome: What it is and how it enhances cybersecurity with modern technologies like SASE, SD-WAN, and application security stacks

• How Zero Trust impacts user experience, system administrators, and analysts within the DoD

• The importance of interoperability, integration, and automation in the DoD's cybersecurity framework

• Collaboration with industry, academia, and research institutions like MITRE to solve cybersecurity challenges

• The future of Zero Trust and defensive cyber operations in cloud environments

Drew also discusses the shift from traditional defense in-depth strategies to a more integrated, session-based approach in securing DoD networks and applications.