Zero trust, zero guesswork: Securing the defense workforce platform
Zero trust, zero guesswork: Securing the defense workforce platform
https://fedscoop.com/zero-trust-zero-guesswork-securing-the-defense-workforce-platform/
Publish Date: 2026-06-08 09:37:00
Source Domain: fedscoop.com
Workforce modernization is often framed around talent gaps, hiring speed or operational efficiency within the federal government. After nearly two decades in federal service, including leading cybersecurity initiatives as a CISO, I believe agencies must view workforce transformation through an equally urgent lens: security. In the current threat landscape, identity is the new perimeter. However, that perimeter is only as strong as the data model supporting it.
Amanda Day is CISO for Workday Government.
The identity crisis: fragmentation as a vulnerability
The most significant security need I hear from agencies today is a lack of visibility driven by identity issues. For decades, the government has operated with siloed legacy systems of record, leading to fragmented digital personas.
When identity is fragmented, security risks multiply through “identity sprawl.” During my own federal career, I held records in at least three different HR systems: my middle name was “Leanne” in one, “Lee Ann” in another, and simply “Lee” in the third. While this may sound like a minor clerical error, it creates a massive identity nightmare at enterprise scale. If an employee leaves an agency, an administrator might deactivate one account but inadvertently leave a secondary, incorrectly named account active. If that orphaned account retains administrative privileges, it becomes a silent but potent insider threat.
Security: Baked in, not bolted on
To eliminate modern vulnerabilities, agencies must adopt a unified data model that establishes a single source of truth for workforce identity. This is not a feature you can “bolt on” as an afterthought; it must be the architectural starting point.
I often compare security to baking: you mix the flour, sugar and eggs before putting the cake in the oven. Security is the egg; if you try to crack it on top after the cake is already baked, the structure fails. Modern human capital management…
