# Federal Agencies Strengthen Agentic AI Security

Federal agencies are moving beyond documentation-based compliance toward risk-based governance and continuous security monitoring for agentic AI. The approach emphasizes controls that keep human oversight in place and make AI-agent actions auditable. For contractors, this signals potential demand for real-time cloud-security metrics, AI-agent identity and access controls, monitoring, and cybersecurity workforce support; the signal identifies no specific solicitation or contract.

- Agencies and contractors supporting them may need to demonstrate security through ongoing operational metrics, rather than relying only on written descriptions of intended controls.
- Companies providing cloud security, AI identity and access management, monitoring, or cybersecurity workforce services can align offerings to the identified needs for auditable agent activity and human oversight.
- No contract value, solicitation, or procurement deadline is identified, so the signal indicates a market direction rather than a current bid opportunity.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 15, 2026

### Government Entities
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- General Services Administration (GSA)
- Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)

### Vendors
- Cloudflare ()

### Key Quotes
> Not just narrative updates about what a could service provider intends to do, but actual security metrics from their environment, because we live in the year 2026, and all those [resources] are plentiful.
> — Nicole Thompson, FedRAMP Security Director, GSA

> AI is a force multiplier. It is definitely not a replacement for any individuals. We have to make sure that we have humans in the loop.
> — Leslie Nettles, Acting Deputy CISO, CMS

### Sources
- [Agentic AI Raises New Security Challenges for Federal Agencies | GovCIO Media & Research](https://govciomedia.com/federal-agencies-set-safeguards-for-agentic-ai-systems) - GovCIO Media & Research