Evolving Zero Trust and Embedded AI: Federal Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026
Read the original on MeriTalk ↗The Summary
Netskope's Venkat Sundaram predicts that 2026 — described as the last full year before the DoD's mandated zero-trust target — will push the Pentagon from access-focused zero trust toward behavioral analytics (User & Entity Behavior Analytics), dynamic risk scoring, and AI-driven automation and orchestration (SOAR, continuous authorization / cATO). The throughline: move from static allow/deny to real-time, context-aware authorization across hybrid environments, including OT and weapons systems.
Why It Matters for AI Harness
This is the federal mainstream arriving at the doctrine's doorstep. The shift the piece forecasts — from access control to real-time, behavioral, context-aware authorization — is exactly what the AI Harness Doctrine formalizes and extends to autonomous agents. It independently validates the Zero Trust Parallel and the case for Enforce at Runtime: govern behavior during execution, coordinated across every system the actor touches (Governance Must Span Systems), driven by a live Policy & Compliance Engine.
Maps to the doctrine
This story illustrates the following principles of the independent AI Harness Doctrine:
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