Microsoft’s Ian Leatherman on how AI boosts government zero-trust efforts

Ian Leatherman, Zero Trust Strategist at Microsoft, discussed the operational challenges government agencies face in establishing a zero-trust environment, emphasizing the need to understand the digital estate beyond network perimeters. He highlighted the importance of AI in identifying architectural vulnerabilities through visual recognition and attack mapping, which can triage systems and accelerate security efforts. Leatherman also noted that 6G wireless communications may improve data connectivity but won’t fundamentally alter zero-trust principles, which assume all networks are compromised.