Old ads can be startling—cigarette ads used to boast their health-giving properties, sugar-laden candy was once advertised as a dietary aid, and soft drinks were advertised as a milk alternative for babies. None of this would fly today, of course, thanks to regulations. Foods must be advertised more responsibly, and they must list their ingredients clearly on the packaging, especially allergens.

This post was co-written by Nazhin Beiramee, Jazmin Childress, Kevin Clark, and Nick Weiss. Advancement in technology, along with the ever changing political landscape (e.g., the Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, as well as billions in funding to support this mandate, and a potential administration change after the 2024 election) uncover new needs, opportunities, and demands for government organizations.

Last month, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) organized a one-day software bill of materials (SBoM)-centric conference, both amusingly and aptly entitled SBoM-a-Rama. It was a hybrid event allowing for both in-person and remote participation; I chose the latter. As a long-term security practitioner, I’ve been observing the development of this field with great enthusiasm, but always from the periphery.