AT&T’s Jill Singer on Advancing Network Modernization Within Intelligence Community

Jill Singer, vice president of the national security and defense segment at AT&T (NYSE: T), said the Intelligence Community needs to advance network modernization to address rising cybersecurity risks and near-peer threats and effectively carry out their missions.

Singer told The Cipher Brief in an interview posted Tuesday that IC agencies looking to implement network modernization efforts should consider adopting zero trust to ensure that individuals accessing the network are fully screened and approved.

“The design principles should have cybersecurity in mind upfront— whether in support of your applications, your network, or other features of your infrastructure. Cybersecurity should not be something bolted on at the end,” added the six-time Wash100 Award winner.

Aside from using other transaction authority agreement, Singer suggested ways on how IC agencies can improve their procurement of modernized platforms.

“They can aim for more agile-style acquisitions, as opposed to the usual multi-year, winner-takes-all approach. Smaller, more specific acquisitions could be useful as a way to introduce new technology faster,” she noted.

Singer also discussed the challenges facing IC agencies when it comes to network modernization and the skills IT personnel should have as they pursue their modernization effort.

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