S4E10: Resilient Cyber w/ Lily Zeleke

In this episode, Chris Hughes and Dr. Nikki Robinson speak with Lily Zeleke, Deputy CIO for Information Enterprise at the Department of Defense. The discussion covers the DoD’s cloud adoption strategy, particularly the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability (JWCC), the modernization of software development and security, and workforce challenges. Lily also provides insights into securing the software supply chain, the role of software factories in modernizing the DoD’s infrastructure, and the critical shift towards continuous ATO (Authorization to Operate) for enabling cloud, DevSecOps, and zero trust frameworks.

Key Highlights:

• Introduction and significance of the JWCC in enabling multi-cloud operations across DoD

• Focus on software supply chain security, including the adoption of SBOMs (Software Bill of Materials)

• The importance of open-source software in DoD’s modernization efforts

• The role of software factories in DevSecOps and delivering capabilities at speed

• Workforce challenges in cloud and software modernization and solutions to upskill DoD talent

• Shifting from traditional ATO to continuous ATO for greater cyber resilience