Original Broadcast Date: 11/08/2026
Sponsored by Arlo Solutions
Federal cybersecurity teams are managing growing amounts of information, and Lonye Ford, CEO of Arlo Solutions, says the challenge is not simply collecting more data. It is understanding what that information means and using it to make better decisions. During an interview with Francis Rose on Fed Gov Today, Ford discusses how artificial intelligence, automation, and continuous monitoring can help cybersecurity professionals manage risks across increasingly complex technology environments. She explains that the intersection of people and technology is becoming especially important as cybersecurity organizations face workforce shortages and expanding responsibilities.
Ford begins by pointing to the pressure facing cybersecurity professionals. She cites approximately 250,000 open cybersecurity positions and explains that staffing challenges become even more complicated when organizations require personnel with security clearances. For departments supporting sensitive missions, finding qualified workers is only one part of the challenge. Those workers also need the skills to manage new technologies and changing cybersecurity requirements. Ford says organizations must think about how technology can support their existing personnel. Artificial intelligence and automation provide opportunities to handle work that otherwise requires significant manual effort.
In cybersecurity risk management, that includes gathering information, connecting data sources, and supporting ongoing monitoring activities. Ford explains that organizations often assemble teams to complete assessments and obtain authorization to place systems on networks. But those same teams are also responsible for monitoring the systems after authorization. That creates a resource challenge. Ford believes automation can help address it by allowing technology to process information while people focus on decisions. "The machine should help us move at machine speed to gather the data, the people are there for the judgment," Ford says.
Ford says collecting information is not the same as understanding risk. Cybersecurity teams receive information from numerous tools and systems, but that information must be placed in context before it can support decisions. She points to vulnerability reporting as an example. Ford cites a 260% increase in vulnerabilities reported through the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Vulnerability Database. With so much information available, organizations need ways to determine which vulnerabilities deserve attention. She explains that focusing on exploited
Ford explains that government organizations already have access to a wide range of enterprise cybersecurity tools. Those capabilities provide significant amounts of information. The next challenge is making that information useful for the people responsible for managing risk. Ford discusses Decision Beacon, a tool developed by Arlo Solutions to support that process. She describes the platform as operating at the decision layer. It brings together information from existing sources and helps transform that data into information decision-makers can use. The objective is to provide relevant context without requiring cybersecurity professionals to manually connect every piece of information. Ford emphasizes that technology should support human judgment rather than replace it. Automation handles the work of gathering and organizing information, while people remain responsible for evaluating the results and deciding what actions to take. That division of responsibilities is especially important when cybersecurity decisions involve mission priorities and limited resources.
Another major focus of Ford's conversation is continuous monitoring. She describes it as a foundation of effective cybersecurity risk management. Ford explains that organizations often concentrate resources on assessments conducted at a particular point in time. Those assessments help determine whether systems meet requirements for authorization. However, cybersecurity conditions do not remain static after an assessment ends. Threat actors change their behavior, system environments evolve, and access permissions and exposures can shift. That means information collected during an assessment may not fully represent the environment later. Ford says organizations need the ability to monitor those changes continuously. But doing so manually can be difficult, especially when cybersecurity teams are already managing significant workloads. She believes combining technology with human expertise can help organizations maintain a more current understanding of their environments.
Throughout the conversation, Ford returns to the importance of using automation to support cybersecurity professionals. She does not describe technology as a replacement for the workforce. Instead, she sees it as a way to help personnel manage information and concentrate on decisions that require their expertise. That includes understanding mission requirements, evaluating vulnerabilities, and determining where resources should be directed. Ford says continuous monitoring becomes especially important as organizations face changing threats and increasingly complex environments. For her, the opportunity is to connect data, automation, and human judgment in a way that supports more informed decisions. As cybersecurity teams continue managing growing demands, Ford believes that combination can help organizations better understand their risks and protect the systems supporting their missions.