Nikki Henderson | GovernmentCIO Media & Research

Nikki Henderson

Staff Writer/Researcher
Profile picture for user Nikki Henderson

Nikki Henderson is a staff writer/researcher for GovCIO Media & Research, where she primarily covers the departments of Defense and Homeland Security. 

Prior to joining the team in October 2021, Nikki was a digital media reporter at KTAL NBC 6 where she covered multiple beats including health, technology and entertainment in her featured web series “On the Move with Nikki.” She also worked as a regional writer and producer for FOX News Channel in Dallas, Texas, and covered the 2000 presidential election while working at KTBC FOX 7 in Austin, Texas.   

Nikki earned her Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University. 

During Nikki’s spare time, she enjoys going to New Orleans Saints and Pelicans games. Nikki is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She also volunteers with the Alzheimer’s Association. Her favorite things to do are Zumba, shopping at Whole Foods and spending time with her husband, Marlon, and their adorable son, Max. 

Articles


Dr. Monica Bertagnolli's nomination comes less a year after she joined NCI as director and amid a reignited White House Cancer Moonshot initiative.

The agency is eying solutions for novel methods to improve patient health.

Major tech efforts are underway to provide health equity, create a more inclusive hiring process and increase the number of women in leadership and cybersecurity roles.

The National Cancer Institute highlights the collaborative tools and initiatives for improved screening, treatment and outcomes for cancer patients.

Electrification, cutting-edge research labs and cooling technologies are helping agencies reduce carbon footprint.

DHS's Procurement Innovation Lab is now using artificial intelligence to assist agencies with testing and acquiring emerging technologies.

The Defense Department’s CMMC program and NIST guidance are helping agencies reap the benefits of hybrid cloud without sacrificing security.

Health and civilian agencies see major benefits from ICAM solutions, a pillar of zero trust, when protecting IT systems from phishing scams and fraudsters.

The Department of Energy and the Social Security Administration look for strategic ways to modernize technical frameworks while operating on limited resources.

FEMA leverages geospatial imaging and IT-enabled machine learning to help predict hurricane landfall, assess storm damage and enable quicker disaster response. 

Tech modernization initiatives need critical tools to keep the user experience top of mind.

The National Institutes of Health's STRIDES Initiative wants to enable all researchers to share and use data in the cloud.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s sensor technology improvements and enhanced data collection tools provide crucial forecasting information to better track hurricanes and save lives.

Federal agencies will need to incorporate post-quantum cryptography into their data security frameworks to avoid potential cybersecurity risks from quantum computers.

CISA's Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program helps federal agencies strengthen their security postures and also optimize data management for targeted IT modernization efforts and improved service delivery.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is working to build an open source software office that will facilitate data-sharing across the public health ecosystem.

The Department of Education builds incident response and recovery plan on resilience and guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is utilizing cloud to eliminate silos and significantly improve data sharing and cataloging across the agency. 

CIO Kurt DelBene stresses the importance of building the agency's vision and workforce upon the fundamental aspects of zero trust.

New policies are incorporating more flexibility to recruit talented employees.

CFPB and DOE shift their attention to zero trust as they work to eliminate risks and build a higher level of protection around their software supply chains.

Protecting data from future threats could see benefits from implementing post-quantum cryptography into agency frameworks.

The CMS and EPA roll out new tools to help transition from paper to electronic records in the wake of the looming M-19-21 deadline.

RPA and AI enables a widespread data fabric to provide cleaner and more secure access to data.

SEC, USPTO and GAO use automation to maximize operations by reducing repeated tasks and optimize workflows.

CISA said moving to hybrid cloud also reduces cybersecurity complexity.

The Defense Department sees great advantages of artificial intelligence and machine learning when it comes to supporting its workforce and back-office functions.

Software factories push for culture and policy changes to help put the Defense Department on a faster track to integrating DevSecOps into its infrastructure.

DISA’s Hosting and Compute Center is working through technical and programmatic challenges created by hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The Defense Department faces an uphill battle as they continue to tackle cultural and trust challenges while moving toward the adoption and implementation of AI.

The core of the shop's mission focuses on enhancing the service's development and acquisition amid DevSecOps transformation.

The Navy and NSA believe collaborative public-private partnership and training will significantly boost overall cybersecurity posture.

The Army is focusing on leadership and building a culture of trust with soldiers while upscaling its workforce and AI capabilities.

The service is expected to issue a memorandum regarding policies that will support the cyber ready concept and continue to grow the use of DevSecOps.

Next-generation security and automation could provide DHS with the network security they need as the threat landscape becomes more aggressive and dangerous.

Identity management, level of assurance and single source of truth are pillars of the zero trust approach to cybersecurity.

Hunt Forward Operations are allowing CYBERCOM to better operate and secure DOD’s information networks. 

Many federal agencies are tackling identity, credential and access management solutions to help them in their new zero trust approach to security.

CISA is working on steps to help federal agencies address potential supply chain vulnerabilities.

AI capabilities and data are providing DOD and USPTO with a clearer vision of what the customer needs in order to provide the best solutions.

DISA’s HaCC empowers the warfighter by delivering problem-solving capabilities via user-centered design.

User analytics and AI help Kessel Run improve product design by quickly identifying and analyzing user behavior.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks discusses CDAO’s role in making data-informed decisions and using the ADA initiative to guide AI investments.

The Defense Department's newest office outlines its mission for assuring and transforming AI.

Identity and automation are supporting military personnel amid zero trust architecture implementation, but a skilled workforce is still needed.

CISA’s CDM lead wants agencies to harness data and application security within their cybersecurity strategies.

Data is providing the framework that will help modernize and poise the Army to conduct operations at the tactical edge. 

Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck said intelligent automation better protects the homeland by promptly disseminating raw data throughout the world.

The command is assessing new technologies to improve capabilities, automate processes and eliminate technical debt.

Data Chief Thomas Kenney said AI is the key to digital transformation challenges.

The agency follows a collection of guiding principles that include secure and modernized systems to accomplish an extensive data architecture across the agency.

DISA and the Air Force invest in emerging technology to enhance user experience and maintain a secure network.

Newly organized portfolio management office helps prioritize and align all zero trust efforts across DOD.

Automation has played a key role in helping improve cybersecurity processes, but workforce constraints still hamper efforts.

The agency turned a month-long cybersecurity initiative into a continuous effort as a reminder to the workforce on how to stay aware and protect the network.

DHS embraces automation on zero trust journey as they continually make efforts to provide their mission space with the capabilities that they need.

CISO Gregory Edwards provides key considerations for contractors and other federal partners in helping the agency manage the new security requirements.

A new kind of collaboration allowed Cloud.gov to host 100 million unique digital users per hour.

There are special tools to help organizations protect their infrastructures from malicious Russian cyber activity.

The Navy utilizes multiple training platforms to onboard a talent pool across its three domains of business, readiness and warfighting.

CISA encourages federal agencies to adopt a zero trust approach to cybersecurity to prevent cyberattacks.

The Department of the Army remains focused on identity and mobility within a zero trust environment as employees continue to telework.

Network modernization efforts gain a large amount of momentum after Navy releases Information Superiority Vision document in 2020.

The Army and SOCOM use modern technologies to protect, maneuver and fight at the most secure levels on base and in the field.

DevSecOps continues to bring change to government's culture and approach to security.

Tackling identity management within a zero trust strategy requires a culture shift.

DHS and USCIS strive to achieve credible, dependable and comprehensive data in order to make informed decisions at strategic and operational levels.

DOD overcomes fear of innovation in the digital space and starts to embrace emerging technologies and tools in AI and DevSecOps.

The cloud empowers FEMA to address efforts around climate, resilience and readiness.

The Army, Air Force and Navy's modern application practices are improving security postures.

The combination of vision and senior leadership along with goal setting leads to a transformed business.

Establishing security requirements at the beginning of the software development life cycle is key.

After a pause in the program, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification will now fall under the DOD Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Three of the agency’s biggest tech offices will all report to the new role.

The agencies examine 5G security risks, release best guidance to the public and help protect warfighter communications in a competitive landscape.

Low code and other cloud capabilities are used throughout DOD to ease transformation of digital services development.

JAIC is hopeful an increase in AI opportunities will enable the services to leave behind a hardware past and embrace a software future.

Automation programs are improving business processes and workforce productivity.

Defense leaders outline modernization plans to provide the military with more secure and effective networks.

The agency is emphasizing its role to provide tools and capabilities to federal government for countering threats.