"Quadruple factor authentication could be exceptionally valuable, but not if it results in a three-minute query response time," said Angel Rodriguez, Division Chief of the Office of IT Development at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The panel and the shift from mandate to mission
At the Federal Executive Forum webinar “Zero Trust Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2026,” leaders from four organizations sketched how Zero Trust is moving from a compliance checklist to an operational architecture that supports mobility, cloud modernization, resilient mission execution and AI-enabled decision making. The speakers were David Voelker (Zero Trust Implementation Lead, Department of the Navy), Angel Rodriguez (Division Chief, Office of IT Development, ATF), Capt. Patrick Thompson (Infrastructure Technical Director, PEO C5I, Coast Guard), and Mike Tippin (Distinguished Security Architect, Cybersecurity, Verizon).
Department of the Navy: Flank Speed, identity integration, and a 2030 horizon
For the Navy, Zero Trust is being applied across one of the federal government’s most distributed operational environments — ships, shore facilities and hybrid clouds. David Voelker said the department is prioritizing standardization, identity integration and technical baseline optimization rather than wholesale replacement of infrastructure. “We have key partnerships that we’ve identified with our Naval Identity Service,” Voelker explained.
One concrete milestone Voelker cited is the maturation of the Navy’s Flank Speed environment, which he said has "already achieved target and advanced Zero Trust levels ahead of broader Department of Defense timelines." Flank Speed supports over 500,000 users and functions as a model for delivering secure access at scale. The Navy is using AI-enabled analytics, micro segmentation and technical baseline audits to improve visibility across its distributed environments, and has set a long-term goal to be a fully Zero Trust aligned organization by 2030.
ATF: Protecting investigative speed while modernizing critical systems
ATF’s approach frames Zero Trust modernization as a balance between stronger authentication and preserving operational interoperability. Rodriguez said ATF benefited from prior modernization planning and could therefore accelerate Zero Trust adoption without disrupting mission work. The agency prioritized several critical systems early on, including Spartan (ATF’s case management platform) along with firearms licensing and tracing systems that underpin regulatory enforcement and coordination with local, state and federal partners.
Operational friction is a core concern: Rodriguez’s caution about multi-factor delays highlights a recurring tradeoff — stronger access controls that slow investigative queries can directly impede mission execution. Moving into the second half of 2026, ATF plans to emphasize minimizing operational disruptions and ensuring interoperability between legacy and modern systems.
Coast Guard: enabling secure mobility at sea under Force Design 2028
Capt. Patrick Thompson described Zero Trust for the Coast Guard as both a logistical and cybersecurity challenge. The Coast Guard operates more than 1,500 globally distributed operational units — cutters, aircraft and remote sites — and is using Zero Trust to enable secure deployment of mobile and operational technologies across those environments.
Under Force Design 2028, the Coast Guard is modernizing infrastructure to improve mobility and operational connectivity. Thompson highlighted the use of external coverage bubbles and onboard picocells to extend secure wireless connectivity aboard cutters. That connectivity supports engineering diagnostics, operational coordination and remote medical support during emergencies at sea by allowing crews to use mobile devices and collaboration tools. Thompson also sketched a long-term “digital sea bag” concept to provide personnel with persistent access to enterprise services and secure mobile devices throughout their careers.
Verizon: cost efficiency, MTIPS, SASE and AI-enabled visibility
Mike Tippin from Verizon framed industry support around platform consolidation and cost optimization as agencies mature their Zero Trust strategies. He told the panel that modernization choices are increasingly shaped by cost considerations: "Security has never been one of those areas where you can truly see a return on investment," he explained.
Verizon has concentrated on setting up managed trusted internet connections (MTIPS) and secure access service edge (SASE) environments to support Zero Trust requirements while reducing infrastructure. Tippin said the next stage of federal Zero Trust maturity will emphasize improved continuous monitoring, authorization and AI-enabled operational visibility across enterprise environments rather than simply adding new point tools.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and end users
- Technologists and security teams: Expect increased emphasis on identity integration, micro segmentation and AI-enabled analytics (Navy), plus work to bridge legacy systems with modern authentication models (ATF) and deploy secure mobile connectivity in austere environments (Coast Guard).
- Policymakers and procurement leaders: Agencies are integrating Zero Trust into broader modernization roadmaps (Flank Speed, Force Design 2028) and setting concrete timelines (Navy’s 2030 goal; ATF’s focus on the second half of 2026), which will drive requirements for MTIPS, SASE and continuous monitoring capabilities.
- End users and mission operators: Improvements in secure access at scale (Flank Speed’s 500,000 users) and shipboard connectivity (external coverage bubbles and onboard picocells) aim to preserve operational speed while raising authentication and access-control standards.
The discussion at the forum framed Zero Trust not as a regulatory checkbox but as an architectural foundation for cloud modernization, secure mobility and resilient mission execution. Agencies and industry are converging on three practical priorities: integrate identity across enterprise environments, avoid disruptive authentication flows that slow mission users, and use AI-enabled visibility to replace blind spots with continuous monitoring. The calendar is now the limiter: ATF’s interoperability work in the second half of 2026, Force Design 2028 deployments, and the Navy’s aim for Zero Trust alignment by 2030 will test whether these architectural ambitions translate into operational reality.
