Privileged access management: Imperative to defense modernization
Privileged access management: Imperative to defense modernization
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 16:05:00
Source Domain: federalnewsnetwork.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
Defense modernization is accelerating at an unprecedented scale. The Defense Department’s FY 2026 Mandatory Funding Allocation Plan directs $153 billion toward weapons systems, artificial intelligence, digital modernization and defense industrial base (DIB) expansion under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). From AI-driven naval shipyards to autonomous systems and quantum-resistant cryptography, these investments will fundamentally reshape defense capabilities.
The plan allocates $380 million for cybersecurity, yet does not explicitly allocate funding to zero trust implementation or privileged access management (PAM). This highlights a gap: Modernization investments are outpacing the identity security controls required to protect them. The funding focuses instead on financial audit remediation and legacy system modernization. As modernization initiatives expand system complexity and connectivity, ensuring identity and access controls keep pace will be essential.
PAM is not a secondary consideration; it is a foundational requirement for achieving Z objectives, meeting contractual requirements and securing modern defense environments.
Modernization initiatives creating privileged access requirements
The expanding defense industrial base
OBBBA funding will expand the DIB through grants, supply chain investment and critical mineral initiatives. This represents the largest DIB expansion in recent memory, and new contractors will face robust Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirements.]]>
Meeting these requirements calls for privileged access solutions that provide credential management, secrets governance and audit controls aligned with CMMC. Organizations that fail to implement these controls risk delays in certification, increased risk exposure and potential exclusion from contract opportunities.
Digital shipyard transformation
Section 20002 invests $950 million to establish a unified digital architecture connecting shipyards and suppliers.
These transformations expand interconnected environments across shipyards, suppliers and cloud platforms. As connectivity increases, so does the attack surface, making centralized privileged access governance increasingly important. Organizations must implement centralized access governance, secure credential storage and real-time monitoring of privileged activity. Without these controls, the risk of unauthorized lateral movement increases.
AI ecosystems and machine identity proliferation
Section 20005 funds military cryptographic modernization, AI deployment and cybersecurity support for non-traditional contractors. As DoD deploys new AI platforms and automated systems gain access to defense environments, machine identities must be governed through secure secrets management, credential rotation and controlled privileged access.
Without proper governance, AI-driven workflows can accelerate identity sprawl and increase lateral movement risk across both human and non-human identities (NHIs). Machine identities now outnumber human users in many environments, making secrets management and automated access controls a critical component of modern cybersecurity.
System consolidation
Section 20006 allocates $25 million for the Army to consolidate five legacy primary systems into the Enterprise Business System-Convergence. Effective consolidation will require strong identity, secrets and privileged access controls across the supply chain. Without standardized access control, consolidation efforts may introduce additional risk.
Securing defense modernization
Modernization initiatives funded under OBBBA will require identity security, secrets management and privileged access controls to meet zero trust mandates, CMMC requirements and to uphold cybersecurity best practices.]]>
Organizations executing these modernization efforts should prioritize modern, enterprise-grade identity security and PAM solutions that deliver:
Centralized privileged access governance across interconnected environments, ensuring third-party vendors, integrators and service providers receive just-in-time, fully auditable access.
Secure credential storage and secrets management for both human and machine identities across the supply chain.
Real-time monitoring of privileged activity to detect anomalous access patterns across dynamic workflows.
Quantum-resistant encryption to future-proof privileged access controls and protect sensitive communications against emerging threats.
Selecting technology providers that offer quantum-resistant encryption is critical as the public and private sector prepare for a post-quantum future. At scale, quantum computing has the potential to impact current encryption algorithms, rendering the public key cryptography that underpins today’s internet security less effective over time.
The risk is not theoretical: Adversaries are already executing “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, capturing encrypted data today to exploit it in the future.
The OBBBA’s modernization investments will transform military capabilities, and aligning access security with these investments will be essential. Policymakers and defense leaders should consider how identity security capabilities, including PAM, are incorporated into modernization efforts, and prime contractors must treat privileged access controls as core infrastructure.
Addressing gaps in identity security will strengthen the effectiveness of modernization investments. Embedding PAM early enables organizations to scale modernization securely, reduce operational risk and meet evolving compliance requirements without delay.
Darren Guccione is chief executive officer and co-founder of Keeper Security.
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