# Federal CISO Sets Cybersecurity Priorities

Acting Federal CISO Michael Duffy outlined four governmentwide cybersecurity priorities: reducing exposure from high-risk and unsupported technology, improving incident-response readiness, governing AI security, and embedding security in modernization, including preparation for post-quantum cryptography. A governmentwide tabletop exercise is planned for early November 2026, and the proposed $76 billion FY2027 civilian IT budget is scheduled for discussion at the FedCiv Summit on October 29, 2026. The signals identify no solicitation or contract award, but point to capability areas federal buyers may emphasize in future requirements.

- Contractors should be prepared to describe deployable capabilities for vulnerability remediation, especially known exploited vulnerabilities and end-of-support edge devices, alongside secure software and incident-response exercises.
- AI security governance, data and API security, and post-quantum cryptography migration are identified areas of potential demand; clearly distinguish currently available offerings from future capabilities.
- The October 29 summit discussion concerns a proposed budget, not an awarded procurement. The planned early-November tabletop may make operational resilience and incident-response readiness more salient to agencies.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 20, 2026

### Government Entities
- Federal Chief Information Security Officer Council (Federal CISO Council)
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

### Key Quotes
> We don’t have the time to quickly pivot when something happens, and that’s a message that I carry in all these discussions to make sure that all of us understand as we’re thinking about the future what are the types of decisive steps we need to take today so that we are prepared for that future
> — Michael Duffy, Acting Federal Chief Information Security Officer

### Sources
- [Acting Federal CISO Michael Duffy Sets 4 Cyber Priorities](https://www.executivegov.com/articles/michael-duffy-omb-ciso-4-cybersecurity-priorities) - ExecutiveGov
- [Federal CISO's Four Priorities to Strengthen Cybersecurity | GovCIO Media & Research](https://govciomedia.com/federal-cisos-four-priorities-to-strengthen-cybersecurity) - GovCIO Media & Research