School districts are often seen as easy targets for cyberattacks given an abundance of sensitive information but little security. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 1,300 cybersecurity incidents happened between 2018-2021 (not including non-publicly documented incidents). The Department of Education says that every week the average school district experiences 5 cyber incidents.

Over the last few years, SLED cloud strategy has played a pivotal role in public sector modernization efforts. Agencies have invested in application migration, utilized more software-as-a-service capabilities, and constructed increasingly hybrid environments across public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises infrastructure.

The defense industrial base is a critical partner in advancing the DOW’s national defense priorities. To accelerate industry participation, the DOW has launched the Golden Dome Hub as a practical digital entry point for organizations that want to contribute to the Golden Dome Initiative.

Over the last few years, AI has been the hot topic of conversation in SLED IT. We’ve seen AI move from theoretical to actual implementation. SLED agencies are now deploying AI across a wide range of use cases including citizen services, workforce productivity, document processing, case management, fraud detection, and analytics and decision support, among others.

In FY27, state and local governments are navigating a complex technology environment amid changes in policy, the accelerated adoption of emerging tech, and the rapid growth of digital services and citizen expectations. Cloud adoption continues to impact technology consumption; AI is introducing challenges around data, security, governance and contracting; and agencies are facing mounting pressures to modernize aging systems while becoming more efficient and generating measurable long-term ROI.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) recently hosted the 2026 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) in New Orleans, bringing together more than 2,200 attendees to discuss the future of military health IT.  The clear message throughout the event was that technology, data, and digital capabilities are increasingly viewed as a combat support capability directly tied to warfighter readiness. 

Federal quantum policy is shifting from long-term research planning to implementation and readiness. There have been several recent actions taken, including executive orders, strategy updates and new initiatives, to strengthen U.S. leadership in quantum technologies and post-quantum cyber resilience. Quantum is becoming a priority in federal IT modernization, cybersecurity, procurement and national security. 

Earlier this month, the Trump administration released a new executive order titled “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks,” in efforts to accelerate the shift to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). While the new EO is directed at federal agencies, the downstream effects on SLED will be impactful, particularly through funding alignments, vendor requirements and shared infrastructure.

The Quantum Threat and The Need for Change

Quantum computing is introducing a newer cybersecurity risk with the potential to undermine encryption methods that are currently considered secure, reducing their effectiveness against future threats. For federal agencies and national security systems, this is critical as they rely on cryptography to protect data, identities, software and communications. The risk is not theoretical for planning purposes.

Reshaping Federal Logging Requirements 

As of late May, 2026, logging requirements for federal agencies will shift from a volume-driven mindset to a risk-based logging approach. The previous logging requirements published in 2021 via OMB Memo M-21-31 have been rescinded with the publication of OMB’s latest memo M-26-14, calling the logging of cyber incidents across federal agencies to include both Continuous Event Monitoring (CEM) and Threat Hunting, Investigation, Response and Forensics (THIRF).