Keeping Aging Federal Systems Running Amid OT Vulnerabilities

Securing critical infrastructure and managing network vulnerabilities are a growing priority. That’s what Former Department of Veterans Affairs IT leader Bill James kept top of mind when writing a new techno-thriller book, The Chariot Protocol.

Set inside the VA, the novel imagines a rogue AI exploiting the connections between traditionally siloed systems, like IT networks and biomedical devices. Though the book is fiction, James emphasized that it presents a very real cybersecurity challenge and explained why federal agencies need to look beyond traditional IT security and how organizational silos can create vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure.

He also discussed the role of civil servants in protecting federal missions and why, when systems fail, people are ultimately the most important line of defense.